Poker-Face
by Renegade2083
Summary: It's easy to be the Queen when the city is at your feet. The only trouble is your enemy, someone hiding in plain sight, following you at your every move. Will Lightning continue to reign over Boston? Or will she find herself in a situation she can't untangle herself from? FangxLightning Rated M because of torture, sex, needless violence... French here, sorry for any mistakes!
1. Cause I'm a Hustler

**I have a lot of ideas at the moment. I've wrote a lot on this and thought I would share. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

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The nights in Boston had always been the same. She would stay in her office until a little after ten PM, making sure everything was running smoothly before driving home to her house on the East Coast of the city to make a few phone-calls away from everything. But today, she had decided otherwise. She wanted to go out, to have a drink and possibly meet someone she could bring home to her apartment, in the center of the city. But with someone always checking up over her shoulder, she couldn't.

She had divided a plan for the night in order to escape unseen, needing her to be extremely focused.

With a loud sigh, she turned on her leather-chair and let her finger reach out for the intercom on her wooden master desk, letting her manicured finger press on the button to call-out for her assistant, body-guard and employee before speaking up with a raucous and sharp voice.

Emily, come to my office.

She waited, glancing at the big-sized window giving onto the Atlantic Ocean, observing the darkness approaching as the sun had disappeared on the other side of the globe, the night swallowing everything in its way.

As the door opened, the pink-headed woman sitting in her office stood up, bringing a cigarette to her perky and thin lips with half-of-a-smile, gazing at the redheaded woman penetrating inside the room with a stern and serious look on her face, her hands clamped behind her back and her head held high.

\- Yes ma'am?

\- Can you give me an update about the west? What's this obnoxious _Bastet_ up to?

The redheaded body-guard faced her boss, her brows knitting together as a wince reached the corner of her lips. Whatever the news was, it could not have been a good one. She patiently waited for Emily to speak-up, glancing at her fingernails with a frown. Her manicure had suffered through technical difficulties during the day, and the pink polish had slightly been erased from her nail.

\- Well, there were issues with one of the…

\- One of the? Speak up, Emily, don't waste my time.

\- Some of his people attacked a truck.

\- What truck?

\- It contained paintings.

\- And what happened to it, Emily, she asked as she stood up from the couch she had been sitting on, aggressively coming closer to her employee, a finger pressing on her throat as they were finally face to face.

\- Noth—nothing happened. There was a gun-fight, but the drivers managed to lose trail of them.

She kept the pressure on Emily's throat, her fingernail slowly beginning to hurt the woman who's impassible face managed to stay emotionless. If there was one thing the pink-headed woman hated was a sign of any weakness coming from her employees. Anytime one of them showed any kind of physical pain, shame or guilt, she would take them to last floor of her building, sit them down on a chair and gently let them know that they were _fired_ , in her own special way.

Slowly, she took a step back, her straight and furious gaze still piercing through Emily's skull with an indescribable hatred. With a growl of anger, she turned around her heels, her blazer-vest flying above her hips.

\- Where are these paintings?

\- They were placed in the industrial area.

She drew her fingernail between her teeth, over-looking the calm ocean, the waves brushing the white sand. She sighed, her hands clasped on her hips.

\- Go get them. And bring them back.

\- But ma'am I can't…

\- You can and you _fucking_ will Emily. Or would like to meet me on the top-floor?

She glanced over her shoulder, throwing a dark look in her body-guard's direction. Without a word, Emily gave her boss a bob of the head, exiting the office in a long and deafening silence. As soon as the door was closed back, the woman smiled to herself with sharp-wolf-like teeth, glad that everything had gone according to her plan.

Of course had she been aware of the painting problem that had occurred earlier during the day, of course had she known they had been stored in the industrial area. Everything happening was because _she_ was giving the orders, and not the other way around. She would've been a terrible boss otherwise. She had simply lied her way through the conversation, waiting until Emily would give her the perfect opportunity to make her leave for more than ten minutes so _she_ could escape her own enterprise without being seen.

With a snicker, she made her way back to her desk, snatched her purse and placed it on her shoulder with a beam. Checking inside of it, she touched the metal of her gun, nodding to herself as she quietly walked towards the closed door, the keys of her car already dangling between her fingers. She gave one last glance at her office, making sure everything was in order before locking the door behind herself by placing her hand on an electronical device, the sound of the sixteen different locks activating in one sharp noise.

Filled with pride, the young woman turned around, pressing on the elevator's button while bringing her private cell-phone out of her bag, glancing at the few messages she had received from her sister. _"Hey Light, been thinking about coming for a visit, would you have time?"_

Light, or Lightning, pursed her lips together whilst stepping inside the elevator, her finger aimlessly pressing on the first button while her eyes were still deeply focused on her cellphone. She loved her sister, but bringing her in the middle of a turf war was the worst idea that could ever happen. Especially with Bastet breathing down her neck.

Lightning had no idea who Bastet was, as well as Bastet had no idea who _she_ was. Never had she been seen in public, her face blurred and her voice disguised. And plus, the name Lightning was only known by the people extremely close to her, her friends, and her sister. Any other person referred to her as Seth, a mythological Egyptian God of destruction and power. It suited her well, there was no doubt about that.

Reaching the underground of the building, Lightning pressed her fingers against the screen of her phone, squeezing it tightly in her hand with determination. She came closer to her burgundy-colored car, unlocking the doors and sitting down behind the wheel before starting to drive inside the long parking that had been built, allowing her to exit her office without any problem further away on the east side of the city. Everything had been thoroughly planned to make her even more invisible than any other person. To the rest of the world, Seth was someone behind a mask, and Lightning was simply a cute, perky and enjoyable person no one would ever suspect to be a manipulative, lying boss of a mafia specialized in torture and interrogation. And for the past three years, her cover had always remained intact.

After driving and parking her car, Lightning had walked inside a bar in the neutral area of the city remaining unoccupied by the two gangs, a zone where everyone was free to walk, drink and live without any gun fights occurring in the middle of the night. It was an area where people enjoyed living, and where parties lasted until late in the night.

Being here, casually sitting at the counter of the bar with a glass of wine before her eyes, Lightning felt good. Sure, she had felt her work-cellphone relentlessly buzzing, Emily calling her over and over again, to a point where the young woman had answered with a simple message: _"Stop it, get of my neck. I'm out alone, do not try to find me. That's an order"._ She had gotten a response, where the words _yes_ _ma'am_ had been written by what she had assumed shaking hands of frustration. But she couldn't stand being over-looked at over and over again.

Irritated, Lightning let her finger slide on the side of the glass, observing the red liquid that had almost disappeared down her throat. She glanced up at the bartender, pointing at her glass without a word while a small pout has invaded her lips. She couldn't stop thinking about her work, not matter where she was. Every single minute of every single day, she wondered if everything was in order, and if Bastet was planning a surprise attack. She wasn't afraid of the possibility, only frustrated by it.

\- Hmm…

\- Hey there, are ya okay? Ya've been mumblin' under your breath for a while now.

Alerted, Lightning turned her face to the right, gazing at a tall, tanned dark-headed woman wearing only a white blouse and dark jeans, her green surprised eyes gazing back into her own blue and tired ones. She smiled in the woman's direction, wondering if she really had been mumbling under her breath for the past ten minutes, shrugging the idea off as she darted away.

\- Can I buy ya a drink, the woman pursued with a grin, her brows narrowing at the sight of the glass of red wine being refiled, or another one after that?

\- Hm, I suppose you could.

Gazing back at the woman with a flirtatious smile, Lightning reached out her hand in her direction, waiting for her to grab a hold of it.

\- I'm Lightning.

\- Nice to meet ya Lightnin', I'm Fang.

She squeezed the hand she received, noticing how soft and gentle her skin felt around her palm before placing it back on her glass of wine, bringing the alcohol closer to her lips with a spark in her eye. It was show-time.

\- So, what's gotten ya so down?

\- Hm, just work stuff, nothing I'd want to bore you with.

\- Well, how about I start and then ya give it a go? Like that we can both bore each other.

\- That sounds like an interesting deal!

She let out a smile, clinking her glass against Fang's in a small chuckle. She listened to her carefully, swallowing her every word. She did not know if her accent was making everything she said so interesting, or if her sublime beauty had gotten a strong hold onto her but boredom hadn't been the word able to describe what she had been telling her. She was absorbed.

\- So, work is a drag. My boss is an idiot, and a homophobic at that.

\- Oh god, I'm not surprised you've had a hectic day.

\- Yeah, well, gotta pay the bills in the end, eh?

\- That's for sure…

A small silence came between the two of them. Gazing away, Lightning looked at the several different people in the bar until her eyes stopped on a mass of red and curly hair, the blue color shifting from a dark black filled with rage. Clearing her throat, she held her glass even tighter in the palm of her hand, nearly strong enough for it to explode before her attention was drawn back to her drinking-friend, her face immediately letting go of the anger that had invaded it.

\- So, what about ya?

\- Hm, I'm an assistant in a high-school, and the kids are so obnoxious. I just want to take one to hit another with him.

\- High-school kids are the worst. They think they have it all figured out, when they simply don't.

\- Exactly! Now will you just excuse me for a minute?

\- Sure.

Lightning smiled, stood up from her stool and grabbed her purse from the counter. Elegantly, she made her way towards the restroom, passing by the redhead still turning her back at her for the past minutes and whispered something in her ear, barely distinguishable for her to hear. Without turning around to make sure she would follow her, the pink-headed woman pushed the door of the restroom, making sure no one was sitting on a toilet so they would be completely alone.

She reached out her hand in her bag as she stood still in front of the mirror, bringing out a lipstick from a pale-pink color to place it back on her lips, listening to the door opening and closing back on her left side. Without tearing her eyes away from her own reflection, Lightning mirthlessly grinned, tugging the lipstick back in her purse.

\- What. Are. You. Doing. Here?

She cut her every word, her tone getting sharper and crueler. She could feel her heartbeat thumping in her ears, a blinding white rage crippling inside her mind. She turned around, pinning her infuriated stare at Emily remaining perfectly still, her hands clasped behind her back as usual, staring back at her employer.

\- I work here during the night, ma'am. I did not know you would be here.

\- Is that a lie I'm detecting?

\- No ma'am.

Frowning, Lightning brought herself closer to the woman, gazing at her name-tag attached to her black vest. She read the name Diana with half-of-a-smile, her eyes traveling alongside Emily's neck all the way up to her eyes trying to mask a growing fear. Taking a step back, the pink-headed woman faced the mirror back, a hand back inside her purse. She touched her gun again, hesitating to draw it out to teach her subordinate a valuable lesson but refrained herself from doing anything rash.

In the end, the pink-headed girl simply draw out her phone, noticing a severe flinch coming from her left side she couldn't leave unnoticed, an amused and superior smile drawing itself on her lips. Calmly, Lightning turned around, walking back towards the door without giving her body-guard a single look, and penetrated inside the main-room of the bar with her flirty smile back the second her eyes and Fang's crossed paths.

Casually, she sat back on the stool at the counter, noticing that a new drink had replaced her previous glass, her left brow arching with surprise.

\- I figured ya'd want to have something fresh. Have ya tried it before?

\- I don't believe I have… What is it exactly?

\- Let it surprise ya.

She frowned, suddenly feeling threatened. She had used these technics to abduct and torture some people, surprising them with a special drink, where a little white pill had been added to it to lower one's motions, or brain activity all together. She glanced at Fang for an instant, looking at her dead in the eye before simply letting it go. At least Emily was here.

Slowly, she brought the glass closer to her face, carefully looking at the alcohol for any kind of powder at the bottom of her glass before placing it to her thin lips. She sharply exhaled, drank and swallowed, surprised by the surprisingly good taste coming out of this drink. As she placed the drink back on the counter, she gave Fang an amused look, slowly nodding in her direction, thinking deeply about what she had drank.

\- This is… She stopped for a minute, licking her lips and keeping the pressure high. It's really good.

\- Yes!

\- So what's in it? I can feel strawberry, pineapple… Gin?

\- Hm, close. It's tequila and gin.

\- Well, you really can't tell…

Fang seemed proud, a grin placed on her lips. They both gazed at each other with amusement, the pink-headed woman bringing the glass back to her mouth to enjoy another mouthful of this surprising cocktail. It didn't taste like alcohol at all, only being able to feel the sweet and sugary taste of the two fruits collided together. _It could even beat a glass of white wine._

She pursed her lips as she stood back up, a cigarette already coming out from the packet in her jacket's inner-pocket. She had her glass in hand, looking at Fang with a knowing smile.

\- Care to continue outside?

\- Sure, I wouldn't mind a fag.

\- Great!

Leading them outside, Lightning sat down on the first chair available to her, placing her belongings on the table and her purse on her lap. With a gun inside of it, she did not want anyone to snatch it from her, or inadvertently take a look to see what it could contain.

They both remained silent, listening to the sound of a few sirens, Lightning's instinct being to immediately place a hand on the pocket of her pants to feel her cell-phone, making sure not one of her members had been brutally shot down by the enemy. His or her life meant nothing to her, but to think about a simple threat coming from Bastet intensively annoyed her. She gritted her teeth together at the thought, her fingernails digging inside the fabric of her trousers. _I will see you fucking fall._

Discretely sighing on the side, Lightning brought the cigarette to her lips, finally deciding to light it with a sharp move of her thumb, her eyes piercing at the void spreading before her. She could feel her anger staying at the surface of her chest, her heart getting heavier and her mind swirling at more than 60 thoughts a minute. She was quickly reminded by Fang's presence, darting in her direction to observe a concerned look aiming at her hand, her browns knitted together.

\- So Fang! Are you from this neck of the wood?

\- Yep, I live in the south of this area. Do ya?

\- Yes, five minutes from here actually.

She noticed Fang's surprise rapidly vanishing to give into a stern look.

\- It's a nice neighborhood.

\- Yeah, far from all the bullshit going on…

\- I hear that.

Lightning sighed and shrugged. If anything, being in the middle of a war had made her life more interesting than ever before.

\- Where are you from actually? Born here, or moved here?

\- I moved here 5 years ago, but I was born in Melbourne.

\- Oh that's neat. Got tired of Australia?

\- More or less! I wanted to visit the US, and then I got a job here so I stuck around. Are ya from here?

\- Born and raised!

The pink-haired woman giggled under her breathing, puffing on her cigarette with a charming smile. She pulled her tongue out as Fang rolled up her eyes with a smirk, carefully gauging the woman sitting in front of her.

Well Fang this has been pleasant but I'm going to go back to my place.

Standing up, she brought out her wallet from her bag, placing a fifty dollar bill on the table whilst staring Fang right in the eye.

\- My treat. Next time we bump into each other, you'll pay.

\- Next time?

\- We'll see. I like to let faith decide.

She winked in Fang's direction, not letting her start her sentence before she was already gone on the street, rejoining with her car she had parked five-minutes from here. She hesitated on where to sleep for the night, either in her apartment in the neighborhood, or in her house on the East Side of the city, away from prying eyes and any kind of civilization. With a frown, and already sitting behind the wheel, her decision was quickly made, the rumble of the engine of her car roaring in her eyes.

Slowly, she exited her parking spot and began to drive away from the center of the city, a new cigarette already burning between her fingers. At a red-light, the boss of the Mafia pressed on her phone, clicking on the name of one of her employee, asking them to find a special delivery for her to come home to, especially waiting in the purple room with a bottle of scotch placed on the table. She wanted a show, and she wanted it now.

Driving closer to her house, she received messages warning her of the success of the mission, a grin, mischievous and cruel twisting the corner of her lips. She pressed harder on the pedal, glancing in her rear-view mirror before engaging onto a small road covered by trees, the lights of the house soon being noticeable after a mile. She quickly parked in front of it, popping out of the car with the cigarette-butt in the hand, snickering at the sight of the purple lights lighted on the second floor of the mansion.

She placed her hand on the three security devices opening the three different doors, finally penetrating inside the hallway of her house. She automatically made her way up the stairs, her hand casually sliding on the guard-rail as the music began to reach her ears.

Arriving on the second-floor, she smirked and nodded at her chief of security, her blue eyes piercing through his skull.

\- Wait until they're done, then bring them home. It might last a while.

\- Of course, Seth.

She gave the man a bob of the head, snatched the mask from his hand to place it on the upper side of her face before letting him open the door for her, listening to it being closed back, already aroused by the sight presented before her eyes. Gazing at her with lust, two women poorly clothed were waiting by the pole, only wearing a shirt and transparent high-heels, their eyes flashing in her direction with raw lust.

With her face perfectly hidden, Lightning sat down on the single leather chair, grabbing the glass of already poured scotch in her hand and drank a mouthful of the amber colored drink, licking her lips with delight and arousal.

She let the two women perform their dance, her eyes traveling alongside of both of their bodies with pleasure, taking in every single second of their little show. Anna and Katerina were Lightning's usual strippers/escorts, giving in to her every need. She trusted both of them to a certain extent. Never had they seen her face uncovered, and never would they find out where she was living. She only trusted them to keep quiet, perform and fuck.

As the two girls were done, Lightning remained silent, elbowing on her knees with a severe frown. Having forgotten about the poker game taking place the following night, she stood up from her chair aggressively and pulled the door open, waiting for the two women to put their clothes back on and leave her alone, at last.

\- Bring them back. And get me Lebreau. I need her.

\- Yes, ma'am.

She frowned heavily, letting them walk pass her with concern before feeling Anna's breath down her neck.

\- It wasn't good?

\- It was, she coldly replied, I'd rather watch you two fuck. But business first.

\- Okay… Call me anytime stranger.

Anna winked, and disappeared behind the door slamming in her face. Sighing, Lightning made her way back to the chair, seizing the nearly empty glass of scotch with disdain. The thought of seeing Lebreau rejoiced her, but having to train her for this stupid tournament was a waste of her time.

She slouched on the chair, her finger sliding on the edge of the glass. Slowly, she closed her eyes, breathing in and out to relax. The image of Fang came back to her mind, picturing the tall and tanned woman with a smirk on her lips. Well-aware of the time she had before finding her best-friend, she let her hand slip under her underwear, and a finger sliding between her legs.

Picturing Fang was extremely efficient. And touching herself had always been pleasant.


	2. Don't stop the devil

New-Born

The sun has been up for three hours. In the quiet house, Lightning was on the ground-floor, sipping a cup of coffee whilst Lebreau was gently sleeping in the master-bedroom, needing the necessary strength for tonight's games in order to win the prizes. Skylar Lebreau was Lightning's Hustler, excellent with cards and tactics, an unemotional face used to bluff her way through any situation. She wasn't an employee in the Mob, but only her best-friend, helping her in some tasks in exchange for protection and truth, no matter how dark it could be.

They had known each other for more than fifteen years, long before Lightning had achieved her coup by killing the former boss of the Mafia, ruthlessly dictating her orders without a hint of shame or guilt. People had a tendency to take advantage of someone showing signs of remorse, as Carl had proven it before being assassinated by Seth in a twisted and brutal way. Lebreau had known of her plans, but hadn't agreed to it. Now, she was simply acquainted to Lightning's darker side, never stepping in in any kind of decision.

\- You're still up? Please tell me you've slept.

\- Nope. Coffee?

Lebreau nodded, sitting down at the counter of the kitchen with bags under her eyes. Grabbing the coffee maker, Lightning poured the hot and warm beverage inside a clean cup, pouring herself her fourth coffee in the last hour at the same occasion. She pushed the first mug in her friend's direction, standing still in front of her with both her hands on her own cup, softly blowing on top of the liquid.

She kept her gaze on Skylar, the young brunette closing her eyes from exhaustion.

\- Will you be fit for tonight, Sky'?

\- Yeah, yeah I should be fine.

She nodded to her friend, sipping on her coffee. She listened to the sound of the wind, slowly walking towards the large-living room window with screwed up eyes. The pool had begun to shake with the puffs of wind, and the sky had grown darker for the past hour, only being a matter of time before it would eventually rain.

\- Will you be there?

\- Yes, but I won't be playing.

\- Of course, we wouldn't want Seth to show his face.

\- Especially because Bastet will be there.

-How'd you know?

Lightning turned around, gazing at her friend fighting to keep her eyes open.

\- Because he will try to figure out who I am, just as I'm planning to do.

\- Ah, right. Have you thought about what could happen if you do indeed figure out? What will you do?

She shrugged, bringing the mug to her lips once more. She had thought about it, of course, but couldn't know for sure how things would go. Her primary focus was to keep her identity secret, no matter the cost, and no matter the consequences. If anyone she didn't trust enough were to find out her true activities, that person would be found dead the following day, dumped in a dodgy area of the city.

But what she would do with Bastet was unclear. Somehow, Lightning had grown to like this mystery Mobster, finding his tactics way more efficient than Mark's, the previous leader of the Pulse gang. At least, he was earning the respect he deserved.

With a short sight, Lightning brought herself closer to the counter of the kitchen, placing her mug near the sink and next to a dirty plate. She remained completely still, her palms holding onto the cold metal whilst Skylar had begun to gently snore behind her back. _Ah, you really are tired hon'._ She turned around, giving her friend a carrying and loving smile only few had ever witnessed before turning her head to the right, quickly rushing towards the front-door with both of her hands already grasping onto her desert eagle.

She aimed at the source of the noise, unable to figure out who and what could've been the reason for such an uproar, her blue eyes glaring at the front-door slowly opening. As Emily penetrated inside the house with Alaric, Lightning couldn't help but to arch a brow, observing the man they were forcefully carrying inside the house, dried blood covering a big part of his face.

\- What the fuck is this, she asked with authoritativeness, glaring at her two guards.

\- Yesterday, when I followed you at the bar, he was there. I followed him back to his place, waited, and followed his car driving here, Emily said.

\- Alright. Bring him downstairs. Start to interrogate him, I have a guest here.

\- Yes ma'am.

She glanced at the man, looking at him dead in the eye as they gazes crossed, a small yet distinguishable smirk appearing on her lips. It had been a while since she had interrogated someone, more than a week, and she had missed it. Turning around on her heels, she made her way back towards Lebreau, still sound asleep on the counter of the kitchen with her hand weakly holding onto the cup of coffee she hadn't drank.

Scratching her chin, she brought herself closer to the brunette, gently grabbing her hand and relaxing her fingers to stop her grasp. She gazed at her for a few more moments, a short and thin smile on her lips quickly changing into a cruel and horrifying smirk.

Turning around, she made her way out of the kitchen and inside the dining-room, pushing the metal door leading in the basement under the house, a sound-proofed room used for Lightning's extra-special activities. She walked down the few set of stairs, the bright lights guiding her path towards a hallway, a door on each of her sides now becoming visible.

She couldn't hear a single sound form where she stood, therefore deciding to go inside the first room on her left, turning on the lights as no one had been inside. The room was small, only a few square meters with a single table placed in the middle. On this table stood three boxes, a black, a red and a blue one, all of them being arranged in this precise order and ranked by color to measure the severity of the wounds the instruments inside might cause to another person.

She let her hand slide on the three boxes, chewing on her lip with a certain amount of arousal. She quickly made a decision, snatching the blue box from the table with a firm move, already turning back around with a grin. Turning the lights off and pulling the door back closed, Lightning turned the handle of the last door available to her, her eyes immediately landing on the man tied up to a metal chair, his hands and legs firmly held by barb-wire.

His eyes were squint shut, wincing from the pain he had been under, Emily standing still in front of him with her arms crossed on her chest. She had blood on her knuckles dripping on the ground, and you could see from the shape of her neck that she had been smiling, and wildly for that matter.

She came closer to them both, looking at Alaric leaning against the wall with boredom.

\- Alaric, could you please go and entertain Lebreau? She's sleeping, but I wouldn't want her to be wandering around when she wakes up. Emily, can you place this over there and give me nails and the hammer?

She smiled in both of their direction, handing out the blue box for Emily to seize it. As the case left her hand, she slowly brought up the sleeves of her blue shirt up to her elbows, readjusting her shirt for it to be perfectly aligned with her body.

\- Farron!

\- How do you know my name?

\- Does it matter?

Arching a brow at such an attitude, Lightning reached out her hand with a smug smile, patiently waiting for Emily to place the required objects in her palm. She gingerly observed the man, trying to figure out how he could know her real name before slapping him across the face with brute force, instantly waking him up from his exhaustion.

\- Bitch.

\- Aw, thanks. Now, she said with the hammer finally in hand, care to tell me who you are?

\- Why? Don't you like a challenge?

\- I do, but this one is boring. Let's heat things up, uh?

She leered, placing the nails on the ground and kneeling before the man in a loud sigh. Lightning brought a single nail up in the air and placed it on the knuckle of his fore-finger.

\- What are you doing? Lightning, what are you doing?

\- I'm doing what I do best, honey. Getting words out of you.

She lifted her head up and gazed at the man, her right hand slamming the hammer against the nail, the man's bone breaking in one simple hit. He yelled his lungs out, shrieking like a baby having a tantrum, yelling even harder as his middle and ring-finger suffered through the same treatment.

\- Are you fucking insane?!

\- No, I'm not. I enjoy making a point, that's all.

He glared at her, his puffed eyes reflecting terror more than ever before. She smiled in his direction, narrowing her head to glance at the bleeding hand with a sharp smile. She had spoken with a soothing voice, pleased about this little action of hers.

\- Let me ask again. How do you know my name?

\- Fuck. Yourself.

\- Did that already honey. I'm thinking about something else right now.

She chuckled to herself, bouncing towards the blue-box and smiling brightly in Emily's direction. They looked at each other with amusement, Lightning's sadism coming out like a match on gasoline. Gingerly, she looked inside the box, pushing a few objects away and retrieving some of them to place them on the table, her eyes carefully scanning at them all.

She turned around, listening to the man screaming for help he would never get, tearing his skin apart just a little bit more every time he attempted to move his arms or legs. _Fool. They always try to break out of these. Ah, fools…_

I've always found the concept of pain interesting. When I was young, I remember being hit in the nose by a baseball. I cried, but not from the pain, more because it had touched a sensible spot, so my tears were more a chemical reaction than a true emotional reaction.

\- What's your fucking point?

\- My fucking point is that I like pain. And honey, if I were you, I'd start talking now.

\- I'm _so_ scared.

She grinned, her hand landing on a sharp knife, smaller than her palm. She looked at it with pleasure, swiftly turning back around and coming back to the man. She gingerly looked at his hand, replacing the knife with the nails, quickly planting three nails in his untouched and unbruised hand in the blink of an eye. She knew were to hit to cause the most pain possible without risking an important blood-loss, therefore enjoying the show just a little bit more.

Looking at the man, she could only feel pity. A dark and rising pity.

\- I'm gonna ask again. How do you know my name?

\- I know you're Seth. But don't worry, I've kept your little secret.

\- Seth? As flattered as I could be, I think you must be mistaken, she answered with a flat tone of voice, crossing her arms on her chest with an arched brow.

\- Oh please, you're the one who killed Carl three years ago!

\- And how would I have done that?

\- That's for you to tell me, babe.

Crashing her knuckles against his cheek, Lightning frowned. She crashed them again, and again, listening to the man raucously laughing before spitting a trail of blood on the floor, more of it now rolling down his throat. She caught his look, devious and impertinent, the urge to bash his head against the floor grabbing her by the throat.

Taking a deep breath in, she scratched her left cheek, therefore leaving a small trace of blood on it. She began to pace around the room, listening to the man moaning in pain, the smell of blood only starting to fill up her nose.

You know what honey, I'm starting to get bored and I'm running on a schedule here.

Sharply, she made her way back to the chair with the hammer still in her right hand. Raising it in the air, she smashed the object against his knee once, twice, and three times, the bone eventually snapping under the force of her gesture.

\- Please, stop!

\- Tell me what you want.

\- Nothing! I want nothing!

\- How did you know my name?

\- I—I worked with you!

Arching a brow, she stopped the hammer mid-air, gazing at the man with confusion.

\- I'm Cid Raines!

Suddenly, everything came back to her. Recognizing his darkish hair, Lightning opened up her mouth with surprise. _Cid Raines,_ she thought to herself with a grin, _how did you, such a fucking idiot, managed to figure out who I was?_

She crossed her arms on her chest, still holding the hammer tightly in the palm of her hand. She gazed at him for a while, his scattered breaths being the only sound filling the cold and bloody room.

\- Cid. What do you want?

\- To… To work with you, of course!

She frowned, her eyes expressing nothing else but a true surprise.

\- What was with the act? Why didn't you simply say so?

\- I didn't think you'd… I don't know…

\- You're an idiot. You always were an idiot.

She sighed heavily to herself, gazing at Emily, her brown eyes darting in her direction. Then with a smile showing all of her pointy teeth, Lightning chuckled. She began to laugh, loudly and uncontrollably, her entire body shaking and tears rolling down on her cheeks.

\- Oh Cid. You want to work for me?

\- Yes, please.

\- My answer is…no.

She beamed, lifting up the hammer before crashing it on the man's right temple. Blood squirted out of wound and landed directly on her face, the sharp side of the hammer still deeply planted inside his skull. He wasn't dead yet, his eyes slowly rolling back towards his skull.

Trying to talk, Lightning pulled the hammer out of his skull, a line of blood being spread on the ground and towards Emily, the body-guard still remaining impassible to any of the events. With a devil laugh, the pink-headed woman crashed the hammer once more, but in his ribs this time, the man quickly huffing with pain, surprise and shock, blood splashing it out of his opened-mouth.

\- Work _with_ me? You work _FOR_ me!

Caught in a hysterical laughter, Lightning crashed the hammer against his skull again, watching pieces of bones falling on the ground. _The fucker is fighting with every fiber of his soul_. Pulling the hammer away and making it crash on the ground, the pink-headed woman brought herself closer to the man, his eyes desperately trying to stay open. She sat down on his lap, placing both of her thumbs before each of his eyes before pressing hard, the squishing sound sounding like a delight to her ears.

She giggled to herself, pulling her fingers away from the two hollows globes, blood covering most of his face. She stood up, looking at her shirt with a small pout before snatching the final piece of her work from the table. It was a knife, but a special one. It was separated in two blades, both of them being used to be shoved inside the guts, and pull them out in a moment's notice. A tool Lightning had enjoyed using in most of her interrogation protocols.

Coming back to the man painfully trying to breath but unable to speak, Lightning leaned towards his ear. Slowly, she said:

\- Anyone who knows both my names and that I don't trust deserves to die.

She grinned and planted the knife deep inside his guts, listening to the squishing sound of his internal organs being torn apart before roughly pulling out the knife from his stomach, blood quickly squirting on her face and clothes. She kept both of her eyes open, observing the man's last breaths fading away in only a matter of seconds, catching a last glance on her work of art before turning around on her heels.

Glancing at Emily, Lightning smiled, her face going back to her rough and ruthless self.

\- Call the maid, have her clean this mess up. And dispose of the body.

Walking towards the door, the pink-headed girl stopped next to Emily, catching her wrist in the palm of her hand.

\- Lie to me again Emily, and this is how you'll end up.

With a true smile, she began to put more pressure on the wrist before slamming it swiftly against the table over and over again, waiting for the sound of the bones finally cracking to let go of her body-guard. Then, with a wink, she moved away from the room. Walking up the stairs, she readjusted her shirt, observing the bloodstains on her blue shirt with an arched brow.

Pushing the door of the basement, Lightning made her way back towards the kitchen and went up the stairs, surprised by the heavy silence surrounding the house. It's only when she reached the first floor that she crossed Lebreau gaze, the brunette's eyes opening wide at such an uncanny sight. As her usual self, the pink-headed girl shrugged it off, winking in direction of her best-friend before disappearing inside the bathroom. The day had only just begun, and she suddenly realized that this had only been the beginning of her lucky strike.

* * *

Standing in front of a luxurious building in the neutral area, Lightning was casually smoking her cigarette. Wearing a splendiferous dress, she was gazing and smiling at some of the people walking inside the building. She was confident about this evening, already noticing a few from the high-society her hustler was about to rob from a thousand of hundreds of dollars in only a matter of hours whilst she would casually be drinking at a bar, discreetly trying to figure out who Bastet might be.

Throwing her cigarette on the ground, the pink-headed girl turned around, her perfect black dress following her movement and showing only one of her legs, her black and red high-heels slamming the ground with determination whilst she was placing the half-venetian mask she had decided to wear for the night. She could fell Emily's stare from afar, the body-guard still keeping a close eye on her even with a broken hand, following the woman closely.

Slowly walking up the stairs of the enormous casino, Lightning let the doors being open to her, nodding in direction of the man looking at her chest with bright, sparkling eyes. The compliment flattered her, therefore entering the building with a raw confidence reaching an incredible height.

She looked at the hallway leading to the main area, the golden and silvered sculptures and ornaments shining brightly in her blue eyes. Sighing with a smile, she let the following guards open up the two following doors, finally penetrating inside the place. It was marvelous. Before her were spread several tables, black-jack, roulette, poker, bridge, everything was in place to welcome the rich players of the city, waiting for everyone to either lose, or win.

Scanning the area carefully, she managed to stop Skylar standing still with a glass in her hand, talking peacefully with Alaric, Lightning's chief of security and friend. Remaining impassible, she began to walk across the room, glancing at a few players feeling lucky for the night and waiting for the first round of the poker tournament. Everyone was on edge, their hearts beating fast in their chests, waiting for the two mafia's to face one another for the second time in three years, a duel that no one would ever miss.

Looking to her left, Lightning's eyes was caught by the roulette, a game purely based on chance, and not strategy. She had never understood the purpose of this game, except being a money-wager for every single casino in the world. Maybe people thought that by blowing on the dice and praying for good luck to come their way, they would somehow win, but this had never attracted Lightning in any way. Poker had always been her bread and butter, and would always hold an important place inside her heart.

\- Lightning Farron, what a treat to see you tonight.

Sharply turning around, Lightning placed her gaze on one of her former challengers, a fifty-five year old man who, even with time, hadn't aged.

\- Joseph, it's nice to see you. Are you here to play?

\- Of course! What about you?

\- No, not tonight sadly. I'm here to watch…

\- The big contest between Pulse and Cocoon?

\- Precisely.

They both chuckled, scanning the area together with grins on both of their faces.

\- Who are you betting on, he asked charmingly.

\- It's hard to say. It's been so long since the last contest.

\- It is indeed true… Would you care for a drink, Lightning?

\- Actually, can I get you one? I think I owe to ya.

Her heart stopping, Lightning managed to keep a straight face as she turned around on her heels, her two blue eyes landing on a familiar face she hadn't forgotten. Surprised to see Fang here, the woman slowly nodded, excusing herself to Joseph before making her way towards the bar of the casino. _This is surprise._

\- Fancy meeting ya here.

\- Same goes to you, Fang. How are you?

\- I'm good! Tired, but needed to check this place out.

\- I didn't know you liked gambling.

\- Me? Nah. I just like to watch people lose their money.

Lightning chuckled, pressing her palms against the counter of the bar. Quickly, she casted a look in Skylar's direction, the brunette still deeply focused inside her conversation, bouncing and shaking her head from left to right.

It's only then that she spotted the Pulse's hustler, her hazel and powerful eyes scanning Skylar with a heavy frown. _There you are. Where's your boss, honey?_

\- What do ya drink?

\- Scotch, make it double.

\- Well, no wine tonight?

Focusing her attention back on Fang, the pink-headed woman shook her head with a smile. Her eyes deeply focused on the brown-haired woman, she unconsciously bit her lower lip, envy and lust raging through her entire brain. _Get a grip, Seth. You need to stay focused tonight._ Mentally punching herself in the ribs, Lightning drew her attention back on the crowd, unhappy to notice Skylar had vanished.

Music began to play in the speakers, the indication that the night was finally starting. It was smooth Jazz, Frank Sinatra rhythming the place and making everyone's faces light up with joy, the sound of the trumpet quickly putting every single person at that time of the century.

\- Do ya like jazz?

\- I _love_ it. If I could live in another decade, it would be the sixties.

\- Ha. I'm really beginnin' to like ya.

\- Only beginning?

She winked, grabbing the glass of scotch from the counter with a short and almost unnoticeable smile. Without a word, the two women clicked their glasses, simultaneously drinking from their respective glasses.

The atmosphere was warm, casual but electric. You could almost forget what was bound to happen, the contest between the two hustlers slowly approaching. Lightning didn't forget, however, and she knew that Bastet was here, somewhere, waiting for the same thing.

\- So, why are ya here?

\- I usually play, but I'm not in the mood tonight. Just gonna watch a bit, and go home.

\- I didn't know ya played poker.

\- Hm, I like the challenge. But I always loose, I have a terrible poker-face.

Fang chuckled under her breath, drinking from her vodka on ice with a smug smile drawn on her lips, looking directly at Lightning. They both sighed simultaneously before the pink-headed girl felt a hand on her shoulder, quickly noticing Skylar's soft touch. _Oh right_.

She turned around, fixing her gaze upon her best-friend with a smile, quickly entering into a tight hug.

\- Sky, she said with pleasure, what are you doing here?

She smiled, amazed by her own performance. It wasn't the first time Skylar was representing the Cocoon gang, but it was the first time Lightning showed up to one of these, meaning she never could've known her best-friends activities. For that, Lightning had asked Skylar to come to her before the game, showing surprise and shock. The pink-headed woman couldn't have known it otherwise, making the game even more rigged.

\- I…What are you doing here?

\- Want to see people lose. Plus it's _free_ drinks, wasn't going to let that pass, she said in a laughter. I didn't know you played!

\- I do but… I'm playing for Seth.

\- What?

Lightning looked genuinely shocked, looking deep into Skylar's brown eyes. She didn't speak, she didn't breathe, her mouth uselessly open.

\- Skylar are you…

\- I gotta go Light, it's about to start… I'll meet you at your apartment tonight. We'll talk there.

She received a quick kiss on her cheek, observing the brunette leaving her sight, her glass of scotch held tightly in her hand. She felt the urge to smirk, watching her hustler elegantly making her way towards the only table placed in the exact middle of the room, a small crowd already gathering around it.

\- Uh, are ya okay?

\- No, I'm not. I'm worried about her, I didn't know she… I mean… Messing around with gangs, Lightning said as she turned around, glancing in Fang's green eyes. She's going to end-up killed.

Tears filled her eyes and Lightning glanced away. _I'm on fire._ Hiding her face in both of her hands, the pink-headed girl excused herself, placing the glass back on the counter and quickly leaving the room to find the restroom. Arriving inside the room, she placed herself in front of the mirror, letting her fake tears leaving the corners of her eyes.

She sighed heavily to herself, a small pressure slowly building between her lungs and inside her stomach. _Skylar, you better bring you're a-game._ Grabbing her lip-stick from her purse, she placed some back on her lips, gazing at her reflection with a wicked smile. With a smile, she placed the make-up back inside her purse, winking at herself as she exited the restroom, heading back towards the poker-room.

She was surprised to see Fang waiting in front of the doors. Her eyes still filled with water, she came closer to the dark-haired girl with a sad look in her eyes but didn't speak up. They simply went back inside the room in silence, just-on-time for the big game.

She stood still near the table, glancing at both Skylar and her opponent, the blond-haired girl straight-face and pinched lips already highly annoying her. Keeping a straight-face herself, Lightning waited for the dealer to begin the game, the cards being shuffled, distributed and the game finally beginning.

The room was silent, everyone attention drawn and caught between the two players fighting neck to neck against one another, Skylar's bluffing style being to its highest. However, she couldn't help but to feel the same pressure in her stomach again as she gingerly observed Pulse's hustler who had remained way to calm ever since the beginning of the game. She was adding a few thousands of dollars, following and rising, her lips never twitching and her eyes never leaving Skyla's face. _She's rough. I'm impressed_.

Then, Lightning began to scan the people. She carefully looked at everyone around the table, trying to find that one person who would come out as different, powerful and ruthless. But no matter how hard she tried, Bastet was perfectly hiding. _Damn it. You're starting to piss me off, Bastet._

\- Aw, I'm sorry hon' but… you're done.

Drawing her attention back on the table, Lightning's lips twitched with anger at Pusle's hulster's comment, observing her straight flush being placed on the table. She nibbled on her lip with rage, waiting for Skylar to show her own cards. And when Skylar's laughed, Lightning internally smiled.

\- Nice move. But not enough.

Pressing her cards against the table, the room shrieked. This was the first time this had ever happened, and everyone knew that the only thing being able to surpass a straight flush, was a royal flush. Lightning observed the five cards, spades, going from 1 to the 10.

She observed Skylar standing up from the chair, an amused smile drawn on her lips as she picked up the mallet from the hands of the dealer containing three million dollars Lightning would put right in her pocket. Skylar quickly disappeared from the room accompanied by the guards, the room slowly growing back louder, talking about the amazing game that had taken place.

\- Well, that was… hot.

Lightning turned around, suddenly remembering of Fang's existence.

\- …yeah.

\- Are ya okay?

\- No. I don't care about poker, it's just a game. I'm worried about…

\- Your friend?

\- Yes.

She closed her eyes and ducked her head.

\- Hey, pretty face? If Seth really is as good as they say, your friend has nothing to worry 'bout. I'm sure she's protected.

\- From others maybe, but not form Seth.

She had rage in her voice, her throat closing up as tears began to roll on her cheeks once more. She brushed them away with the palm of her hand, looking away to cover up her embarrassment.

\- Lemme drive ya home.

\- No it's okay. I'm going to walk home, I don't live that far. But thank you, Fang.

Turning on her heels, Lightning began to walk towards the two doors, her face moist and cringed. Arriving at the doors, she slowly turned around, giving the room one last glance before fixing her gaze upon Fang with a small, sweet smile before disappearing back on the streets, her eyes sparkling with fire.

She walked towards the apartment slowly with a cigarette between her lips before a car finally stopped next to her. She gazed at it with knitted brows, watching the limo's window lowering to let Skylar's thrilled face appear. Glancing to her sides, Lightning stepped inside the car without a single word, closing the door right behind with a beam.

\- Told you I'd get it!

\- You aced it, Sky'. Never doubted you.

\- Aw, a compliment!

\- Emily, my house. We have some celebrations to do.

She chuckled to herself and placed her hand on Skylar's shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

\- Well done Sky.

\- Thanks Light.

She nodded, not showing any other kind of appreciation. Pulling out the bottle of Champagne already opened, she poured the two glasses with elegance and headed one to her best-friend before clicking their glasses together in a laughter.

They had won. Bastet was warned. No one would ever take them down.


	3. Feel Invincible

**From now on I'm going to warn you when there's a violent scene. So there is a violent scene here. It's not the worst in the story, but if you don't like needless violence well... You're warned!**

* * *

Lightning was in her bed, the silk sheet covering her naked body, the fresh breeze of the morning coming from the opened-window caressing the tip of her nose. She stretched with a small growl, turning around on the mattress with flickering eyes to gaze in Skylar's direction, the brunette still deeply asleep.

She could tell that Skylar was still sleep because of her nose twitching and her shut eyelids flickering from time to time. Elbowing on the mattress with her head in her palm, Lightning pushed a few brown hairs from Skylar's face, her fingers sliding on her cheek to her chin with a smile. _You made me even richer five days ago,_ she thought to herself with a chuckle, nibbling on her lower-lip with some sort of kindness in her eyes no one would've suspected from her.

\- You're so cute.

\- Aw, thanks Light.

Flinching, she retreated her hand from her friend's face, watching her tired eyes slowly opening to gaze in her direction.

\- I didn't know you could give someone a compliment.

\- Shut up. That's a lie, I complimented you earlier during the night.

\- Yeah…I'm not sure saying 'you fuck so good I might fucking die', is a compliment…

She pushed the sheet away from her body and sat down at the end of the bed, rubbing her face with her palms. She sighed after a while, glancing at the devastation of her bedroom with a tight frown. She might have loved the sex more than she loved food, or alcohol (or not) but she had always hated the mess the next morning, clothes on the floor, bottle spread across the ground and a few broken objects due to rough gestures that had occurred. Shoving someone against a cabinet had never been a good idea, after all.

Standing up on her two feet, Lightning snatched the bottle of scotch from the ground and placed it to her lips, drinking the few drops that hadn't fell on the ground. She licked her lips with delight, dragging her naked body out of the bedroom and inside the bathroom. She placed the bottle on the sink and pressed her palms on the porcelain, gazing at the red dots in her blue eyes. She truly looked like _shit._

\- What do you have going on today Light?

\- Hm, need to go to the office. We're hiring a new body-guard.

\- What about Emily?

\- She's… retired.

Lightning shrugged, checking Lebreau's reflection in the mirror. She could see her disappointment flashing through her eyes, though quickly disappearing as their eyes met through the mirror.

\- Anyway, I'm going to go to work Light.

\- Sure. Alaric will drop you to your place.

She turned around, leaning her butt against the sink. She observed her friend grabbing her clothes back from the floor and quickly putting them back on, enjoying this last sight from a naked woman in the middle of the bedroom whilst playing with a twirl of her pink hair.

Biting on her lower lip, she gave Skylar a come-hitter look, the brunette responding with a roll of her eyes and a tongue sticking out of her mouth. Then, the brunette simply left the room without a single word, leaving Lightning alone with her thought.

The rest of her morning went on with no troubles at all. Mostly focusing on her phone-calls and paper work, she had arrived at her office around ten in the morning. Her appointment with Caius Ballad, the man wanting the opened position to be her personal body-guard, was scheduled at 1PM, in precisely thirty-five minutes, giving her enough time to gaze at her the video-camera footage from the casino night. She still hadn't been able to figure out who Bastet was, even though she had watched the footage more than sixteen times, but no matter how hard she concentrated, she couldn't find him.

\- Alaric, get in.

\- Yes ma'am?

\- Could you schedule an art-expo in the NA? Make it widely known. Put every sculpture, art, paintings. But more importantly, put the photographs from Dmitry Laudin.

\- The…photographs? But they're worth…

\- Nothing, I'm aware. But I need to put Bastet on the fence…And since I've stolen them for him…

She wildly grinned, the blue of her eyes turning to an electric color filled with insanity. Nodding her head to Alaric and waiting for him to leave, she cracked her knuckles with a grin, tapping her fingernails against the wood of her desk.

Upping the ante was needed. Ever since the tournament, Pulse had been surprisingly quiet, and Lightning had grown to be extremely bored. Sure, she enjoyed having some douche-bags to interrogate, but even torture had become… uninteresting. And _this_ needed to change.

\- Hmm…

Stroking her chin, she stood up from her chair, bringing herself closer to the bar on the other end of the room. Pouring herself a fine glass of scotch -double- she then slowly made her way towards the window, gazing at the sun hanging high in the sky.

Everything seemed so peaceful from up there. She could see the people, dots on a map, walking or running through the city, cars speeding at orange lights, neither of them carrying about what might happen around them. She had lived like this once as well, more than five years ago.

She was nineteen at that time, starting her studies in astrophysics she stopped after six weeks for lack of interest and care only to work as a bouncer in bar, on the east side of the city. At that time, mobsters weren't her concern, the Cocoon gang being neatly run by Carl Esteim, a fifty-two-year-old man swiping the city with a will of iron. Being bouncer felt good, and kicking people in the nuts because she was allowed too felt even better. At that young age, she pictured doing only this for the rest of her life.

Of course, everything had changed when Esteim stumbled inside the bar more than once, creating a growing interest towards the pink-headed woman with fists of blood. Who wouldn't have been, as hurting people had never seemed to bother her.

After a few months of working at the bar, Lightning had finally caught enough of his attention to engage a private conversation with her. The contract had been simple: all she needed to do was to torture the people threatening his Empire whilst he would handle the interrogation in exchange for twelve-thousand dollars a month. Unsurprisingly, Lightning had agreed, and had gained her place inside the gang.

Earning her place had been more difficult, however, and Lightning had learned the _hard-way_ what it truly meant to be part of a gang, but not for the reasons one might think. The work wasn't an issue at all, she enjoyed working there and helping however she could. No, her issue was with a man called Hope Esteim, Carl's son and protégé.

Animosity between the two young people had been immediate. Whilst Lightning was talented, pretty and focused, Hope was everything else. Being younger, he considered the world as his oyster, talking trash about everyone to her father, and diminishing the intensity of her work every time he possibly had the chance. And when Carl had heard what his son would have to say, Lightning would be brought to the highest floor of the building for a private interrogation, two years after working with home at the age of twenty-one.

It had been painful, and long. It had seemed as if it had lasted for days or even weeks. But that moment was the one where she had realized _everything_. She had seen in Carl's eyes the pain every time he had hurt her, she had seen his hand slowing down every time he had cut her back. And the worst mistake Carl had ever done, had been to release her.

Two months later, after regaining Carl's trust, Lightning had planned something with a little bit of help called Alaric. Yes, the same Alaric now working under Lightning's orders, one of her most faithful employee she ever had. They had perfectly arranged everything, drawing the boss back to his office because of an emergency where Alaric had been waiting, leading him to the last-floor and claiming that Lightning had been working for the other side, Pulse, controlled by someone named Bastet.

Sadly for him, what had been waiting on this upper-floor had been Lightning wearing a venetian mask of the form of a long beak, grinning at him with a gun pointed at his chest, followed by six-hours of torture. And of course, when Hope had entered the building and Carl's previous office only to find himself face-to-face with a masked person, not only had he been shot on sight, but also dumped in the river, never to be found.

This had started Lightning's reign, and as Bastet, she had decided to adopt the same technique. Not showing her face, letting nobody know who she was, and what she looked like was the perfect way to be feared and she had found just the way to do that. Alaric stood by her side, helping her to achieve everything she wanted, and killing the few people from the Mafia who had seen her face. The others, on the other hand, were giving orders through a screen with a picture of the Egyptian God Seth, her new identity, and a disguised voice.

With a fist of steel, Lightning had immediately shown her ruthless authority, surpassing Carl in every possible way, starting by getting her hands on a very nice collection of Photographs from Dmitry Laudin during a heist where five guards had died, and six pedestrians had been wounded. It had been the cost for it, in order to get her hands on them, and it was something she would do again in the blink of an eye.

That precise moment had started a turf war in the city of Boston, guards disappearing during the night and being found the next morning, disfigured and dead but never had Bastet or Seth been exposed.

Coming back to reality, Lightning sighed, looking at the now empty-glass in the palm of her hand with a tight frown until someone roughly knocked on the door. She remained still, only speaking up to say _come in_ and waited for Caius Ballad to enter the office. She could feel him behind her, but didn't care enough for the moment to turn around.

\- Caius Ballad. Why should I hire you as a body-guard?

\- Because unlike your previous body-guard, I respond to orders.

\- Oh really?

She turned around with a grin that was slowly replaced by a frown, glancing at the tall, long-haired man with confusion. _He is massive. He's huge. He's…hot?_

\- Why do you want to work for me?

\- Because I believe you bring order to a confused city and that Bastet needs to be put down.

\- And why do you believe he needs to be put down, Lightning asked as she sat down at her desk, pointing at the bottle of scotch on the bar.

\- Because he's interfering with you. And that's unacceptable, Caius replied whilst bringing the scotch back to her, gazing into her eyes without blinking once.

Watching him pouring a double-scotch in her empty-glass, Lightning slowly nodded. Caius remained still before her eyes, never breaking the rough eye-contact she had been throwing at him.

\- I read you work in a bank.

\- Yes, I do.

\- Keep that job. People wouldn't want to assume you disappeared to work for Seth.

\- Of course.

She stood up from the chair slowly, the glass still in the palm of her hand.

\- Follow me, there's something I need you to show me.

\- Of course.

Opening the door of her office, she pressed on the elevator's button and waited for Caius to come next to her, quickly locking back the door with a faint smile. She waited in silence, penetrated inside the lift and pressed on the last button heading them to the last-floor of the building.

\- We found out during the night that a little birdie had been trying to reach out to me… And you are going to make her talk. Just questions though. I'll step in if I feel the need to.

\- Yes. Do we know anything about this person?

\- Her name is Elsa, she's thirty-two.

\- Very well.

She grinned, her eyes flickering with amusement as the doors finally opened, directly arriving face-to-face with the young woman sitting on a chair with her arms behind her back and her ankles attached to the chair, her head facing the floor.

She had been sitting here for the past twelve hours without drinking or eating, and had only once been allowed to use the restroom. Of course was she exhausted, but people were more inclined to talk when being sleep-deprived, dehydrated and hungry.

\- Go ahead, get things out of her.

\- Right away.

Walking inside the room, she immediately went towards the table and sat down on the adjoined chair, crossing her legs and tapping under her vest, near her breast. Her gun was there, as if it was attached to her skin, waiting to be pulled out and triggered. She looked at Caius slapping the girl right across the face, her eyebrows twitching with surprise.

It had an immediate effect as the girl moaned in pain, growling and lifting her head back up only to find herself in front of a huge-suited man smiling in her direction.

\- Hello Elsa, how are you feeling?

His voice was smooth, his accent almost unnoticeable. Of course, the woman spat in his face, glaring at him with rage whilst he hadn't moved a single muscle, or even batted an eye. Instead, he simply chuckled, seizing the tissue from his pocket to wipe out what had he received.

\- You oddly remind me of my daughter. She too, has that temper.

\- She must be lucky to have you, freak!

\- She is indeed. She just graduated from Harvard, I couldn't be prouder.

Lightning carefully observed Caius with an arched brow. Using the compassion technic wasn't her thing, but if he wanted to try, he could.

\- Yeah, she's my little princess.

\- She'd be better off with her mother than with a killer.

\- Her mother died from cancer shortly after her birth.

The girl twitched her eyebrows, looking away to focus on Lightning sitting further away.

\- It doesn't change the fact you're working for this…bitch!

\- And what did she do to you?

\- She's been killing people in the city, stealing, lying, torturing people!

\- But what has she done to you personally, Elsa?

\- She… She…

The girl stopped talking, closing back her mouth. _Is she about to cry_ , Lightning asked herself with a smile, uncrossing her legs and elbowing on both of her knees with delight. _This is like watching a movie, I fucking love it._ _I could use pop-corn though…_

\- What did she do, Elsa? This sounds personal…

\- She killed my husband! I know it's her! I know he's dead!

\- Who is dead?

 _\- Cid Raines._

Lightning arched a brow, pulling her finger away from between her lips. She stood up from the chair, coming closer to the woman crying like an open faucet, tears crashing on the material of her jeans. Placing a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing it, the girl slowly calmed down, shivering and shaking from head-to-toe.

\- I didn't kill Cid Raines, honey. I don't even know who that is.

\- But he said Seth was someone he knew…Pink-hair, bad attitude… It must be you!

\- I'm sorry honey, but it isn't. I am Seth, yes, but not someone he knew.

Lying her teeth out, the pink-haired Mafia boss gave Elsa a small pout, tapping on her shoulder with a small pressure. She sighed heavily, standing back straight and smiling in Caius's direction, truly impressed by his ways. She softly applauded him, pointing at the chair for him to sit down. It was her time to play now, and she had been dying for it.

She kneeled in front of the girl, slowly untying her ankles before standing back up and getting her hands free again, helping her standing up from the chair with a warm smile.

\- I believe that this is just a huge misunderstanding, Elsa.

\- I…I…

With a hand still on her shoulder, Lightning oriented her towards the door, glancing over her shoulder o observe Caius following her every move with surprise. She tilted her head in his direction, focusing her attention back to Elsa with her hands now placed on each shoulder, gazing into her red and sad eyes.

\- I'm…I'm sorry.

\- Don't worry honey, Lightning said with a grin, you'll meet your husband in a second.

Pulling her gun out of its holster, she placed the barrel of the gun under her chin and pulled the trigger one single time. She lived the scene in a slow-motion, watching the truth being finally comprehended inside Elsa's eyes and fear quickly filling them up. She observed the head jerking off, blood splattering on every side. She smelt the sweet scent of the powder and the blood coming together perfectly, and felt drops and pieces of brain fall on her face, top of her hair and shoulders as the girl was falling on the ground, inert.

She sighed heavily at her sight, the puddle of blood coming from the top of her head already getting massive as she placed the gun back in its holster, safety on.

\- You're hired, she said with her phone placed on her ear. Alaric? Did it work?

 _\- No, but in two days it's possible._

\- Ugh, fine. In two days it is. Oh, the last-floor needs some cleaning up. They better bring a ladder.

She lifted her head up, hanging up the phone in the process and looked at the blood drooling from the ceiling. With a shrug, she opened the door, pushing the body off its way with force and waited for Caius to exit the room without a word.

Once in the elevator, Lightning began to chuckle.

\- A dead wife, and a daughter. I gotta admit, even I could've believe it.

\- You didn't?

\- No.

\- How?

\- Oh honey, that's my secret. And a magician, never reveals his tricks. Stand guard in front of my office until Alaric arrives, and warn me when he does. I'm gonna need new clothes.

Penetrating back inside her office after unlocking it, the pink-headed woman let out a short sigh. Happy about Caius, she still needed to test many things about him, but this first trial had gone exceptionally well. Thinking about Emily, Lightning gave into a small pout. _I wonder if she's still alive. I did give her a bottle of water… It's been two days. Tomorrow, I'll go check on her._

With that in mind, Lightning could only wait for Alaric to finally come back. Sitting in front of her desk, she turned the screen of her computer back on, her eyes landing on the video-footage of the poker-game, ready to watch it until she would find something out of the ordinary. Her eyes darted on the screen, focusing on Fang who she hadn't seen since that night. _Fang_ , _I hope I'll see you again. You were… interesting. And I like interesting people_.

Grinning, she stopped staring at the tanned-woman standing behind her, her eyes focusing back on her previous task. _Come on Bastet, show yourself. Show yourself, so you can finally die._


	4. Call me Devil

**No violence, no torture, also no sex!**

* * *

Tonight was the inauguration of Lightning's, or Seth's, art-work exhibition, and she couldn't have been more pleased. More than two hundred people had accepted the invitation, all hopping to see a show they would never forget. Art had always been a way to gather people in a closed-up room coming from every social class, ethnicity or age, and tonight, Lightning hopped she would hit the jackpot.

More than thirty-four paintings were being presented, twelve sculptures and at least twenty photographs spread across two floors highly supervised by more than twenty-six guards, and thirty cameras with a big finale at the end of the evening, the Laudin display of photography with a little gift for Bastet. She didn't know if he would show up, but the game was simply too fun.

Lightning was presently waiting at the airport outside of town, waiting for her sister who had suddenly decided to show up without a notice, only because her text had been left unanswered. Of course, her sister, Serah, had absolutely no idea what her older sister was doing for a living, having been fooled for the past five years without ever noticing a thing. It was better this way, and caused less trouble. Plus, knowing Serah, Lightning would've been reprimanded for her actions, and would have probably lost her sister in the process.

She was standing outside the doors, smoking a cigarette in the fresh air of October with her headset on her ears, gazing at the people coming through the doors with suitcases, leaving the city to go on holiday with their families, friends, or simply returning to their own city, only in passage through Boston.

It gave her the time to cautiously think about her evening. Everything had been disrupted by Serah's presence, but should be going exactly as she had intended it to go. Firstly, she would take Serah back to her apartment, in the Neutral Area to drop her suitcases. Then, she would go downtown with her hand on her phone, shopping and talking about work, friends and possible lovers before preparing themselves to go to the preview, only a few miles away from the flat's location.

She would then watch, observe, be in awe in front of most of the paintings, applauding the artist's work whilst only waiting for the big finish. _Oh yes, it's going to be a blast_.

Puffing on her cigarette, the pink-headed girl gave a look at her watch, wondering what her little sister could've been doing as her plane had landed more than twenty-minutes ago, impatience slowly starting to crawl its way to her brain.

\- Hey sis!

She flinched, nearly letting go of her cigarette as her sister appeared behind her back, her high-toned voice taking her by surprise.

\- Hey Serah, long time no see.

She turned around and smiled, receiving the short girl between her arms. They hugged tightly, a genuine smile being drawn on Lightning's lips. Her sister meant the world to her, and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her.

\- You look good Light! Like, happy and everything.

\- Well I am Serah, she replied, pulling away. You look good as well.

They both smiled, Lightning already bending over to grab the rather heavy suit-case from the ground under Serah's amused gaze. It had always been a tradition. Every time Serah would come to visit, Lightning would pull-out the _big-brother_ game, taking care of her and protecting her from any harm.

They silently went inside Lightning's car, an old BMW dating from 2008, the 'only thing she could afford' with her job as an assistant, the suit-case now neatly placed in the trunk of the car. She started it, wincing at the sound of the engine she usually couldn't hear in her Aston-Martin before going into reverse with more agility than ever.

Lightning was an amazing driver. She could drive at 150 miles per hour without ever breaking the lane, she could go into reverse with her eyes closed or parallel park in only two seconds. At least, she could with her own car, not this dumpster she had kept in a garage in her mansion just for those situations. _I hate this car._

\- So, preview tonight? Who's organizing this?

\- The city I think. I'm not sure it said anything on the card.

\- Thank god you worked for a museum for a few months, we never would've entered it otherwise.

\- True dat.

Indeed, prior to becoming Seth, Lightning had worked for a museum downtown. She was only a security guard, but had given enormous information on the paintings to her boss for him to retrieve them without ever being seen. It had given her the perfect reason to be invited at previews, and it had happened a lot. She had simply never showed-up.

\- So, how's life? Tell me everything!

\- Well, I'm still single.

\- What! No! No, no no!

Arching a brow, Lightning glanced in Serah's direction, the younger sister crossing her arms on her chest and pouting like a five-year-old.

\- You can't stay alone forever Light, it's getting sad.

\- I'm twenty-four Serah, I should be fine. It's not my fault if you've met the love of your life at sixteen…

Serah had met her boyfriend at sixteen, as Lightning had said. They instantly fell in love, and had been together for the past 6 years without hitting any bumps on the road, or only minor ones. Lighting had never liked the guy, thinking he had always been kind of an idiot not being able to walk on his own two feet, but appreciated the effort he had put to prove he was a good guy. He had kept Serah safe in New-York, where the two of them were now living and working and he had done a good job.

\- Yes well… Maybe you're not trying hard enough? No one at your work?

\- Apart from forty-year-old teachers and sixteen-year-old teenagers? No, not really.

\- What about…Skylar?

\- Are you crazy? She's my best-friend, I could never date her!

\- But…

\- Nope, this discussion has come to an end.

She held on tighter on the wheel, picturing Skylar's body over her own from the previous night, almost sensing her skin against her stomach and her tongue on her neck. Shivering, she instinctively turned the heater up, clearing all suspicion from her sister's gaze.

\- So what else isn't new?

\- Well, Lightning answered with a chuckle, I still work at the high-school, I still smoke, I'm still awesome.

\- You're still stupid.

\- You love me.

Serah shrugged, receiving a small tap in the back of her head. Fainting an unbearable pain, the older sister chuckled, patting the top of her head with amusement.

\- Music?

\- Music!

Music in the car was their second tradition. They would put on an old CD they had made together younger, and sing every song on the record vigorously, mimicking the lyrics and shouting every time the singer would shout. They were having an excellent time together, lucky to have each other.

\- Don't go breaking my heart…

\- I couldn't if I tried!

\- Honey if I get restless…

\- Baby you're not that kind!

Moving their shoulders in rhythm with the music, Lightning drove inside the city feeling less-crowded than usual, swiftly engaging on the streets leading to her apartment with the music still piercing both of their ears.

As the car was finally parked, and the two women out of the car and walking towards the building, neither of them spoke up. They simply walked slowly, letting Lightning open the first door, and then second, the two of them now penetrating inside the small but comfortable flat on the ground-floor.

She dropped the suitcase inside the bedroom she would leave to Serah whilst she would be crashing on the couch for the next couple of days, already annoyed that her private life would be put on a hold for a little while. At least, she could always go to the mansion and have some fun of her own, but she would still need to be careful about her every move. She loved Serah, but Serah was pretty invasive.

\- Thanks Light! You're sure you don't mind sleeping on the couch?

\- Nah, I'm good! Wanna go out, eat somewhere and shop?

\- Let's shop first! I need to buy a dress!

\- Right. Let me change, and I'll be right there.

She smiled to her sister and entered inside her bedroom, quietly closing the door back behind herself. Placing her bag on the ground, she then took her sweater off as well as her t-shirt, changing into something a little classier.

Getting dressed never took her more than two minutes, always picking out the ones catching her eye the most. Today, it was a simple white blouse with a black leather-jacket, perfectly matching with her black jeans and military boots. Classy, bossy and pretty, the most important three adjectives when it came to clothing.

Readjusting the shirt, she swiftly exited the room, her eyes immediately looking for Serah standing still in the kitchen, a glass of water tucked in the palm of her hands. She came closer to her, placing her purse on the counter with a faint smile, waiting for the younger girl to finally be ready. _Which is going to take at least another fifteen minutes…_ Shrugging, Lightning reached out her hand inside her purse, bringing a packet of cigarette out of it with a lighter, the fag quickly being lit between her lips.

She received a judging look from Serah, shrugging it off as she had always done.

\- Do you have any idea of what kind of dress you want?

\- Yes. I want a bustier. White, that stops before my knees. Easy.

 _Right, last time we went shopping, it took you forty-five minutes to choose one pair of pants. ONE, not even five._

\- Okay, great. After that we'll grab a bite, and it will already be the time to go to the preview.

\- Right! It's at 6PM?

\- Yep.

\- And it's…

\- 1:25PM.

\- Oh yeah, we have time!

She slowly nodded, blowing her smoke out of her mouth with a smile. _This is going to be a long, long afternoon…_

* * *

At 3PM, Lightning was fuming. Not only had Serah been unable to find a single dress, but had also decided to buy unnecessary things such as sunglasses, earrings, bracelets, underwear, everything that wasn't planned to begin with. She was keeping her cool however, clenching her fist every time Serah couldn't see and smoking every time they were walking on the street.

\- Wait, I need fags.

\- You're smoking a lot.

\- I know. Be right back.

Entering a Tabaco store, Lightning heavily sighed, slumping her shoulder with despair. She stood in front of the door for a few moments, not realizing at that very instant that she was completely blocking it. It is only when she felt it taping her back -making her even angrier- that she knew she was indeed, in the way. Taking a step forward, she sharply turned around, ready to jump on anyone's neck.

However, most of her anger faded away as she gazed at the person responsible for the door slamming against her back, a small smile quickly replacing her mirthless-shaped lips.

\- We need to stop runnin' into each other, stranger.

\- Fang. She chuckled, her cheeks turning pink. It's true, it's been the third time in less than two weeks now.

\- Yep. So let me ask ya this… Do ya by _any_ chance have a sister?

 _\- How_ could you have possibly figured that out?

\- Oh I don't know… Maybe 'cause of the pinkie standing outside on the phone…

Lightning chuckled once more, gazing into Fang's powerful eyes. She smiled in her direction, darting away as the pink-color on her cheeks resurfaced. She made her way towards the cashier, asking for three packs of Marlboro red, not even being sure that this quantity would make her last until the end of the day, not if Serah kept dragging her through the _entire_ city.

Paying with her card, she received the packs in her hand and placed them all in her bag except for one, already tearing the plastic apart and throwing it inside the garbage whilst Fang was paying for her own cigarettes. She glanced at her for a few seconds, quickly looking away at the realization she had been starting for a while, before exiting the establishment together.

\- Ah there you are! So… Serah eyed Fang with an arched brow, glancing at the two women standing in front of her. Hi! I'm Serah, Lightning's sister… You are…?

\- Fang, nice to meet ya Serah.

\- So, how do you guys know each other?

\- We met in a bar, Lightning said without hesitation, puffing on her cigarette.

\- Yep. And we just keep runnin' into each other.

Lightning nodded with a smile, frowning in her sisters direction.

\- It was Sky' she asked me if I wanted to go shopping with her… Would you mind if I said yes? It's been a while since…

\- Yes, she urged herself to say. Clearing her throat, she continued; yes, no problem.

\- Okay great! I'll see you tonight. Meet you at the preview or the apartment?

\- Hm, at the preview?

\- Okay! See you then: Nice meeting you…Fang.

She watched her sister moving away, waiting for her to be out of her sight before she could sigh, raising her fist in the air as a sign of victory. Next to her, Fang chuckled, taping her on the shoulderin a way of saying _yeah, I get that_.

\- Your sister's cute.

\- She is…When she's not shopping.

\- Ha, mine's the same.

They both started walking, not really knowing where they were both going. But it felt nice to be in Fang's company.

\- I heard your sister talkin' 'bout a preview…?

\- Yeah, I worked in a museum for a while, so I got invited to it. Not really sure what it is, though.

\- Hm, then I guess I'll see ya there, eh?

\- You're going as well?

Fang nodded, and Lightning smiled. She really did sound like an idiot, asking rhetorical questions she already knew the answer to. She blushed on command, looking away with her cigarette burning between her fingers. _So she's going to the preview? Fan of art, poker, and good alcohol tastes? This girl's perfect._ Wickedly smiling to herself, the pink-headed woman spotted a coffee place further away on the street, on the East Side of the city.

\- Want to grab a coffee?

-Sure! Got a place in mind?

\- Well, there's a coffee over there, she said pointing towards it, good for you?

\- Sure, why not.

She smiled, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her along the street suddenly crowded. She kept her hand tightly in her own until they arrived in front of the coffee place, realizing that their fingers had now intertwined.

Ashamed, she pulled her hand away and cleared her throat, quickly turning around as a true pink color began to invade her entire face. _What the hell are you doing Farron, get a fucking grip, would you?_ Mentally kicking herself in the guts five times in a row, Lightning slowly sat down on a table outside, still gazing away.

\- So, Lightnin' has a sister, likes art, likes poker, likes alcohol… Anythin' else that might surprise me?

 _Oh if you only knew._

\- Hm, I don't know… I studied astrophysics, but not for long.

\- Astrophysics? Why'd ya stop? Too hard?

\- Don't underestimate me, Lightning teased. No, I stopped because I didn't found it interesting. What about you? Business I know, Facebook, but did you do anything else in between?

\- Nope, I always kinda knew it's what I wanted to do, ya know?

\- Ah, well that's good.

They both smiled, glancing away as the stare had begun to last for too long without becoming awkward. They waited for a waiter to show up, taking drags on their cigarettes and blowing their smoke on opposite directions. Surprisingly, sitting in silence wasn't necessarily disturbing. Most people would've tried to start small-talk in order to fill up the blanks, but Fang didn't, and neither did Lightning. They simply waited for a subject to come up, simply enjoying each other's company. _Or at least, I hope she's enjoying mine_. Glancing at Fang for approval, the dark-headed smiled, her eyes shimmering with joy. _She might be… Hm._

Ordering two long coffees as a waiter finally arrived, Lightning felt her cell-phone buzzing in her pocket. She carefully grabbed it, looking at the text message she had received from Caius with a frown. _The video's in place. It will start at 8PM on a white drape that will fall on the ground to reveal the photos. Everything's in order_. Inwareldy high-fiving herself, she snickered.

\- Ya okay?

\- Hm? Oh yeah, sorry. Skylar's suffering instead of me, so I'm happy.

\- Bad big sister.

\- I know, right?

\- Ha. Where does your sister live, if ya don't mind me askin'?

\- She lives in New-York with her boyfriend. Been living there for the past…three years, I think.

\- She seems pretty young though!

\- She's 22. Her boyfriend's 24.

She shrugged. She didn't have the feeling Serah was that young, perhaps because she had managed to achieve a lot on her own. As Serah and Lightning's parents died, Serah was only 17 years old. She had took it the hard way, and had grown into an adult extremely quickly. Lightning was working every night at that time, and couldn't take a proper care of her. But Serah had become an amazing human being, confident, smart, independent. She had become everything Lightning had hoped for.

\- Anyway. How old is your sister?

\- 23, and I'm 26. How old are ya, actually?

\- I'm 18.

Fang opened wide eyes, nearly choking on her coffee. Amused, Lightning laughed heartily, huffing as Fang decided to punch her on the arm with a slight frown. Snickering and rubbing on the soft spot, the pink-headed girl pushed her hair away, grabbing her cup of coffee in her hands to finally warm them up.

\- I'm 24, don't worry. You didn't buy alcohol to an underage girl.

\- Ya looked too old to be 18 anyway.

\- Hey! Not cool!

It was Fang's time to chuckle, smirking directly in her face. _Argh, she's annoying! Wait a minute. Back up. Light…are you starting to like her? No, impossible. You don't care about people. She's just charming, and pretty, and you want to kiss her. Wait, no, you don't! You don't want to kiss her. Actually you do. Just kiss her. You might die tomorrow anyway, no regrets._

Pursing her lips together, Lightning waited for Fang to look at her in the eye before coming closer to her mouth, her hand already wrapping around her neck. But she didn't even need to pull Fang closer to her, as Fang's lips simply came closer to her own.

Their kiss was thrilling, long, passionate, her heart beating fast inside her chest, thumping against her temples, her palms suddenly getting moist. With her eyes closed, they continued to kiss, a smile landing on both of their lips before they eventually pulled away, short-breathed.

\- Well, I… Hm.

Lightning frowned, looking at Fang darting away. _Oh, great._ However, as the dark-headed faced her again with a smirk, the pink-headed smiled.

\- I've been meanin' to do that as well. Ya short-cut me.

\- You should get used to that then I guess.

Giggling, she placed her lips above Fang's once more, their fingers intertwining under the table.

\- So, Fang said pulling away, want to go to the preview together?

\- Are you asking me on a date?

\- I am. Nervous?

\- Hm. You wish.

Lightning winked, placing the mug to her lips. She was nervous, but never would she admit that. Right now, the only thing she cared about wasn't her date, but more importantly, the preview.

* * *

Lightning was waiting in her apartment, looking at her reflection in the mirror and applying the last touch of her make-up. She had chosen a soft-pink color for her lips, perfectly matching her black dress and high heels accompanied by a pale-pink purse. _You look amazing. God I'm hot._ Winking at herself, she tilted her head towards the living-room as a few knocks were heard.

She giggled like a teenage-girl on her way to it, quickly cooling-off when her palm landed on the doorknob, clearing her throat and going back to her usual-self. _You're embarrassing yourself. Get a grip, once and for all._

Opening the door, she found herself face-to-face with Fang wearing a three-piece grey suit, her hair perfectly combed, her make-up looking amazing, her eyes looking even greener than ever before. She looked _perfect_. Tongue-tied, Lightning uselessly opened her mouth, trying to let words leave her throat but found herself unable to say anything at all.

\- Ya okay there Sunshine?

\- I, erm, yeah. Yeah. You look…Very nice.

\- So do you. Black makes her eyes even brighter.

Chucking, Lightning turned around, eyeing the void and rolling her eyes to herself. She couldn't help but to find herself kind of pathetic. She had always had a strong grip about her feelings, never letting them invade her brain but with Fang…it was impossible. She simply couldn't hide her inside teenage-girl.

\- Well let's go!

\- Yep, right this way Madam.

Lightning nodded, closing the door behind her back and checking inside her purse if everything was in place. Her fingers touched everything needed, her wallet, cash, jewelry…and her gun. Content, she followed Fang out of the building, intertwining her fingers with hers on their way to the gallery. _Don't let anything distract you. Even Fang. Especially not Fang. You're there for Bastet. No one else. Got it?_

She nodded discretely to herself, walking side by side with her date for the night. In their way there -which only lasted a few minutes- neither of them talked. They simply enjoyed the silence and the nightly breeze, walking with determination towards the gallery.

Arriving in front of it, Lightning quickly spotted Serah with Skylar, the two girls ogling at the two hands tightly holding one another. _Oh fuck._ She gazed at Skylar with a frown, quickly noticing the annoyance in the brunette's eyes and demeanor.

\- Hey you guys… I'm confused.

\- Fang is my date. No need to know more.

Staring at Lebreau with dark and round eyes, the pink-headed girl cleared her throat, showing the way to the two other women. Quickly recognizing Alaric at the entrance of the building, she immediately made her way towards him, opening her bag for only him to see and was allowed in without any trouble. She waited a few more moments for the three other guests to enter the place. In the meantime, Lightning took it all in.

She observed her paintings hanging on the walls, the sculptures protected by wires, the photographs presented for anyone to see. It was simply perfect.

\- Alright, let's do this!

\- Yep!

Hand in hand again, Fang and Lightning both made their way towards the first paintings, the Mobster eyes lingering on the first one she saw, one she hold dearly in her heart. It was a painting from Monet called _'Impression Soleil Levant'_ she had bought at an auction for almost nothing after threatening the seller, and killing him right after. It was the painting hanging above her bed, the only one she enjoyed waking up to.

\- Is that… Monet?

\- I think it is. I'm don't really know the names of the painters, Lightning said nibbling her lip.

\- Hm. Nice piece of art.

Lightning nodded, looking away to spot all of her security guards standing in every corner of the room, Caius standing still with his arms crossed on his chest. He gazed at her for a short second, quickly focusing on other people. _He's good. I really like him._

Smiling, she dragged Fang further away in the room, looking at the other pieces of art she had put on display for the night. Quickly, she spotted the set of paintings that had been meant to be stolen, two weeks ago. _Oh Alaric, you nailed it._ She came closer to them, carefully looking at the five hanging before her eyes with Fang, the two women opening wide eyes at the beauty of them.

She hadn't seen them ever since they had been taken, and was amazed by the quality of the work. It really was a superb catch.

\- This preview is…amazing. I wonder who set it up.

\- You don't know, suddenly asked a mainly voice, because I've been wondering the same thing.

\- Turning around, Lightning fixed her gaze upon a man she had never seen before. Looking young with perfect white teeth and pulled back black hair, the man gazed in her direction, and then in Fang's.

\- I'm a journalist for the New-Yorker, I guess an invite went the wrong way.

\- Well you have many things to say about this then, Lightning amusingly said.

\- I really do.

Smiling in his direction, she glanced at Caius, the man quickly catching her gaze and immediately understanding the issue at hand. She felt her heart throbbing in her chest, her jaw clenching with absolute rage. _Alaric! You idiot!_

\- With the same smile still on her face, she focused back on the paintings, holding Fang's hand a little tighter in her own.

\- Let's continue?

\- Yep, this show is really amazin'.

Pleased, Lightning dragged Fang further away. For the remaining hour, they both talked about art and what they felt towards a certain painting, sculpture or photograph, agreeing on most of them. They really clicked on every single subject and spent their time laughing and talking about it.

Eventually, the waited hour arrived, Lightning's face remaining emotionless whilst her brain was pumping blood harden than ever before.

\- Please head up to the second floor for the rest of the showing.

Lifting her head up with a fake surprised-face, Lightning arched a brow. Shrugging and turning around to check on Serah and Lebreau, still holding Fang's hand, the four women went up the stairs with the crowd. She wasn't the first one to arrive, but was amazed by the quantity of people standing in the room. She smiled to herself, coming closer to the drape, and the TV's on the walls -something apparently added-.

Now, she needed to focus. Not letting go of Fang's hand, she gazed at the many camera's on the walls, and the guard all standing next to the drape placed in the middle of the room before watching the light suddenly dimmer. _Oy._

On the drape appeared a blue screen before the venetian mask took its place, Lightning's heart racing.

\- Good afternoon people of Boston, said Lightning's disguised voice, I thank you for coming tonight. You had the opportunity to admire the finest of art, paintings you never thought you'd see, sculptures you wish you had and photographs you want to have taken. Planning this evening was to prove to you, that I care. I want you to see the world I want to build for you, the amazement I want you to see every day. What has Bastet ever done for you? Nothing. He was the one causing trouble in our streets, he was the one trying to start a war. Let me promise you this. Never will I back down, and I will always protect you. No matter how, no matter where you are. My eye is on you.

Chatter began to spread in the room, people whispering to each other as the sound stopped.

\- Now, let me show you my finest work. And Bastet, I hope you will enjoy it.

The TV's shut off, and the light became brighter as the drape fell down on the floor, letting the people of Bosont observe photographs people had never seen before. Getting into character, Lightning sighed and shook her head with despair, feelings Fang's hand clutching tighter to her own.

\- All of this for that, Serah suddenly asked. I really don't regret leaving this town, this fight between the two Mobsters is beyond pathetic.

Turning around, Lightning glanced at her sister's frustrated face. She watched her turning around on her heels and quickly walking down the stairs.

\- Fang do you mind if I…

\- Nah, go. I'll head home soon, I'm pretty tired from this day!

Giving Fang a bob of the head, the pink-headed woman let go of her hand, already walking towards the stairs. Then, suddenly, she stopped and turned around, rushing back towards Fang to give her one passionate and full-on-lips kiss.

\- Give me a call. My number's on the web.

Not waiting for an answer, Lightning was already gone, running down the stairs in her high heels. Watching her sister exiting the building, she quickly gave Caius a look, warning him that everything was alright but that she needed to be someplace else.

Out of the building, she found her sister waiting in the middle of the pavement with her arms crossed on her chest, glaring at her. Arching a brow to then frown, Lightning brought herself closer to Serah, waiting for her little sister to explain her unusual reaction.

She had expected everything but this. And had hopped for everything but what Serah said in her ear. But somehow, Serah told her one simple thing that surprised her more than anything else. It only took 5 words.

\- I know it's you. **I know you're Seth.**


	5. Dark Side

**Short chapter. No sex, no violence... It'll be back though, sooooon.**

* * *

Lightning was sitting on a chair in her apartment, her fingers were intertwined, and her legs uncrossed, staring at the ground with a deep frown.

\- So, are you going to answer?

\- What do you want me to say Serah?

\- Admit you are Seth. Admit you're a monster.

She cringed, clenching her fists with strength. Lifting her head up, she glared at her sister with a cruel smile, forgetting for a few seconds who she truly was in her life. In those few seconds, she pictured Serah's skull being torn apart. She pictured blood squishing out of her mouth, eyes and nose. She pictured her dead…and dismembered.

\- Lightning!

\- What? What Serah? What do you want me to say?

\- I want you to tell me the truth. Simple, efficient.

\- Do you want to _hear_ the truth? Because there is a different between wanting to know, and wanting to hear. So _please_ , tell me which one it is.

\- I don't know!

Serah had stood up and yelled, her fists clenched. _Jesus Christ._ Looking into her sister's eyes, Lightning couldn't help but to feel proud. She had always thought of her sister as someone who never really got angry, someone weak and getting stepped on every hour of the day. But as she was seeing her right now, eyes popping out of their globes, veins piercing through her skin, she understood that Serah wasn't weak in the slightest.

\- I don't know… I just want the truth.

\- Okay. Ask your questions, and I will give it to you.

Pausing, Serah glanced away, quickly making her way out of the room and inside the kitchen, coming back with a bottle of strawberry-vodka and two shot-glasses. Pouring the first ones, she immediately took her own, wincing and gasping as the alcohol hit the back of the throat.

\- Okay. How long have you been… Seth?

\- Three years.

Taking another shot, Serah winced once more and shook her head. Lightning decided to follow her sister, drinking the shot placed before her eyes. _Ha, finally._

\- Have you killed people?

\- Yes.

She answered without hesitation. Serah wanted truth, and truth was everything she was going to get.

\- Why?

\- Because they were in my way.

Lightning gingerly scrutinized her sister. She didn't seem shocked, or upset. She looked even worse: disappointed. Running her fingers through her hair, the pink-headed older sister poured herself another shot, quickly intaking the alcohol.

Serah stopped asking questions for a few minutes, remaining completely still on the couch. She would sometimes glance up at Lightning, darting away with a grunt in the following seconds.

\- Serah, stop that.

\- Stop what?

\- Looking at me like I'm a failure.

Frowning, Serah sighed. She shook her hand in the air, as if she had been trying to push away the negativity swirling around her.

\- You had everything planned. The preview? The poker tournaments? The stealing? The gunfights? Everything came from…you?

\- Yes.

\- But…How? How did this happen?

Lightning took a deep breath, staring at her empty shot-glass. Carefully, she grabbed the bottle, pouring the two glasses before drinking her own, pouring herself another one and shoving it inside her throat again. Exhaling through her nose, she lifted her head up to gaze at her sister with a concerned face.

And then, she decided to simply talk. She explained her sister everything, going from her studies, to her job, to Carl and how everything had led to another under Serah's confused and worried gaze. She told her about what had happened to her, how she had been mistreated and toyed with, and explained to her what her true purpose was: making Boston a better city.

It's all it ever was. She wanted Boston to feel safe, she wanted to see her agents everywhere, making sure that no one would kill anyone for some useless reason. And the second she had said that, Serah had interrupted her with a tone of voice filled with hatred.

\- And you killing innocent people isn't for a useless reason?

\- Serah…

\- Just answer me Light. Is killing innocent people something useful?

Lightning sighed with her head ducked, her hands clasped together.

\- Lightning!

\- Yes, okay? I think it's useful because it sends a message. I eliminate the people threatening the security of the city.

\- The _threat?_ Lightning these are people, human beings!

\- I don't care.

Slamming her fist against the table, the pink-headed woman stood up from the stool. Snatching the packet of cigarette from the counter of the kitchen, thinking carefully about her next act and turned around to gaze at her sister with knitted brows.

Quickly, she grabbed her purse from the floor, looking at the gun inside of it and at the keys of the mansion and snatched Serah by the wrist.

\- What are you doing?

\- Showing you something, we're going for a drive.

\- What if I don't want to?

Glaring at Serah, Lightning spoke up with a cold tone, her sister shivering with fear.

\- You don't have a choice.

Turning around whilst still holding her sister by the wrist, she dragged her out of the apartment, turned off the lights and closed doors and made her way outside. They both entered the car in silence, Serah deciding to simply obey without fighting, or giving her sister a simple look.

Lightning drove through the city with anger, accelerating at orange lights and ignoring any stop signs on her way, huffing and growling under her breath. She had her hand tightly wrapped around the wheel as she finally driving through the forest leading to her house. She parked in front of it, observing the Aston-Martin waiting for her.

\- What's this, Serah finally asked as she glanced at the house.

\- It's my house.

\- What?

\- It's my house, Serah.

She exited the car, waiting for Serah to do the same as she watched Alaric walking in her direction with an arched brow, already hanging out his hand to salute his Boss. She gave a sharp smile at his sight, shaking the hand vigorously as her sister had finally closed the passenger-door gazing at the enormous mansion before her eyes. However, Serah did not talk and only made her way towards the house, Lightning and Alaric walking right behind her.

With her hands clasped behind her back, Lightning let the man open the door for them, the three individuals penetrating inside the warm and cozy house.

\- I want to sleep.

\- Follow me.

Walking up the stairs, she stopped at the first floor and turned to her right, walking alongside a long corridor leading to many guests' rooms and bathrooms. She opened the second door to her right, giving side to an enormous bedroom with a king-sized bed, a TV, a couch and library, everything a guest might need for a proper stay.

She let Serah enter the room in silence and crossed her arms, leading under the frame of the door. As the shorter version of herself turned around to glance at her, the two Farron sisters waited, keeping the stare long and penetrating. It is only that when Lightning sighed that she finally turned around, closing the door and going back to the ground-floor with her hands in her hair, furiously placing them back on her left shoulder.

She pushed the glass-door leading to the garden and the pool, sitting down on the patio with her arms crossed, her purse still hanging around her shoulder. She took her cigarettes from it and placed one between her thin-lips but didn't light it right away. Instead, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, a small head-ache starting to hurt her more and more. Then snapping her eyes open, Lightning realized there has been a question she had forgotten to ask to Serah. _How did she find out? I've always been careful around her_.

Stroking her chin, she leaned back in the chair with her legs crossed, finally bringing the lighter to the cigarette.

\- Ma'am?

\- Yes?

\- Are you okay?

She nodded silently, blowing her smoke away.

\- Do you need anything?

\- Bring me a glass of scotch.

Without glancing at Alaric, Lightning brought out the pistol from her purse and placed it on the table next to her phone. She unlocked it, scrolling through her applications and text messages with a sigh. _I completely forgot about the preview because of all this… For fucks sake, Serah_.

Standing up in a rush and nearly bumping into Alaric, Lightning snatched the glass of scotch from his hand and walked up the stairs as fast as humanly possible, leaving a trail of cigarette smoke behind her. She pushed the door of her private office, glancing at the laptop on the desk and jumped on the chair, quickly inputting her code to unlock the device.

She went on a private-connection connecting her the office to her house, and downloaded all the video footage from the night under a quick internet-line, watching all of the video lining-up in the folder she had created for the event. With a frown and placing the glass to her lips, she opened the first video of the night from a camera that had been placed at the entrance of the gallery, checking at as many faces as possible she could see.

Quickly, she opened up her second laptop, reenacting the same gestures than before, and opened the video-files from the poker-tournament so she could try and find the people that had attended both of the events. It was going to be a long work, probably taking her more than six hours, but this was something that needed to be done. She however pressed on her phone, texting Alaric and asking him to come to her office so he could do the same thing.

\- Alaric, grab these two laptops and download the videos. Try to see if there's anyone you see two times. I hope you're pumped on coffee, this is going to be long.

\- Of course. I'll get right on it.

And thus began a long and tedious night, watching at numerous video footage whilst Serah hadn't made a single sound or move. It was five-thirty in the morning at the moment Lightning rubbed her face in her palms, yawning from exhaustion and intense boredom.

She hadn't been able to find anything at all, and neither did Alaric. They had seen the same person twice on camera, but nothing had struck out of the ordinary.

\- It's a wild goose chase, she said under her breath with her face still covered, it's driving me crazy.

\- Light?

Lowering her hands to only cover her mouth, she gazed at her sister popping her head from the side, looking at her older sister with a frown before glancing in Alaric's direction, her lips tightening with frustration.

\- Can you come downstairs, so we can talk _privately?_

\- I'll be there in a second, Serah.

She keenly looked at Serah disappearing back inside the hallway and rolled her eyes. She stood up from her chair, sighing as she exited the office with a heavy paste and walked down the stairs bare-foot, her hand sliding on the guard-rail.

Arriving downstairs, she made her way towards the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning once more only to find Serah standing still with her arms crossed on her chest with her gun on the counter, the younger Farron gazing at it with disappointment. Lightning came closer to it with a sharp sigh, grabbing a hold onto the pistol she quickly placed in the holster under her blazer-vest, closing the jacket once the gun had disappeared.

\- What do you want to talk about, Serah?

\- You.

Lightning nodded, walking towards the coffee-maker she quickly turned on, inserting a capsule and waiting for the water to be warm before pressing on the buttons. During that time, neither of them spoke, listening to the sound of the machine pouring the coffee in two different mugs. She pushed one of them in her sister's direction, the young woman deciding to ignore it by sitting on the couch in the living-room.

Following her, Lightning didn't sit down. She looked at her sister with a dark-look, keeping her stare on her a long time.

\- How did you figure it out, she suddenly asked, the question storming back to her mind and exiting her lips just as quickly.

\- I placed the pieces together. I've been wondering for a while now. You're always busy, you're always up, you always leave to make phone-calls…And people follow you. Body-guards, I'm assuming?

\- Hm-hm.

\- Will you ever stop?

Surprised by the question, the pink-headed older sister took a sharp intake of air, exhaling calmly through her nose. She had asked herself this question more than once, wondering if she would ever stop the Mafia Industry to live a more common lifestyle. But the answer had always been the same.

\- No.

\- Nothing would make you stop?

\- Dying would make me stop.

She hadn't controlled the words coming out of her mouth, her lips slightly parting at the realization of what she had said. But this was the truth. The only reason for her to stop would be to die, either from an injury, a disease, or a bullet going through her skull.

Serah was back on her feet again, gazing at Lightning with pain. Slowly, she made her way out of the living-room, putting her shoes back on and taking her bag from the ground before she oriented herself towards the door.

\- I can't sit here and watch you die Light. I'm going back to your apartment.

\- Serah…

\- No. I'm taking your car. If it's even yours.

Lightning let her eyes narrow to look at the floor, chewing on her inner-lip before lifting her head back up. She nodded in her sister's direction, coming to terms with her decision without fighting for it. It was better this way anyway. Serah needed to stay away now more than ever, and if it meant losing her trust, Lightning could handle it. It was simply a consequence of everything.

Going back to the kitchen she gave her sister one last glance, her face unable to express any emotions towards the situation.

\- Goodbye Lightning. Be careful.

\- You too Serah. I'll see you around.

\- No, you won't. I'm going back today. If you ever decide to change, don't hesitate to tell me.

\- Goodbye.

She meant it. She had meant this goodbye more than ever before because she knew that this one was true. She knew that Serah wouldn't come back, she knew that she wouldn't see again before a long, long time. Walking to the door that had been left open, Lightning observed her sister walking towards the old BMW with shaking shoulders, a hand wiping what she had assumed to be tears off her face.

For some strange reason, Lightning wasn't upset nor sad to see her sister leave. It felt like relief, as if a weight had been released from her shoulders. She felt lighter, and glad. Observing Serah entering the car, the two sisters gave each other another look before the car disappeared in the woods separating the house from the main road, the roaring sound of the engine lowering until a complete stop.

Now, Lightning had no more strings attached. It was time for the rest of the play. Closing the door, she walked up the stairs with determination, a smirk on her lips. _It's on._


	6. Play With Fire

**Okay. Just FYI, you should listen to the song Play With Fire from Sam Tinnesz because it's the bomb. Also torture scene, sex scene...**

* * *

Lightning was walking down the street, hand-in-hand with Fang. As she had thought, the dark-headed girl had managed to find her intel on the web, and had given her a phone-call, asking if she ever wanted to go out for a drink, and possibly a movie.

She had explained that her sister had to rush home earlier than planned because of her job, fainting a disappointment and sadness. They also hadn't talked about the preview which had been more catastrophic than originally planned because of Serah's theatrical exit.

\- Ya okay sunshine?

\- Yeah, I'm okay! A bit tired, I feel like I haven't slept for days!

\- Want to skip the movie and go back to my place? I don't live far from here…

Arching a brow in Fang's direction, and quickly understanding the _subtle_ hint, Lightning cheerfully nodded. She followed Fang down the street, their fingers still tightly intertwined on their way to the south of the Neutral Area, the building placed at the separation between the West-Side and the Neutral-Side. She gazed at the entrance of it, the building looking extremely new and modern, but wasn't really surprised. Fang had a good position at the Facebook Company, meaning she probably earned more than 4000 dollars a month, enough to rent a flat that was more than 50 square-meters big.

She entered inside the building and walked up the stairs, following Fang with a perfect view on her butt tightly held inside her black pair of jeans. Had she been Seth, she probably would've squeezed that ass tightly, refraining herself from doing anything of the sort. She didn't want to act like a jerk now that she had acted like a silly-teenage girl which apparently seemed to please Fang for an unknown reason, not that she had any right to complain however.

Listening to the sound of rustling keys, she came closer to Fang already pushing the door open and entered her apartment with a smile, gazing at the walls covered with photography and paintings. _She really likes art._ They weren't worth anything, but the pictures had a certain je-ne-sais-quoi bringing color to the white walls.

\- Here, the living-room is right across the hall. I'll bring back a bottle of wine…Red or white?

\- Hm… Whatever you prefer.

\- White?

\- Yep!

She smiled, receiving a quick yet soft kiss on her lips and bounced towards the living-room, observing every single piece of furniture with extra-care. Stepping inside the big room, she glanced at the library, quickly going towards it to look at the books Fang had in her possession, mostly being French Literature and poetry. She noticed that the book 1984 from Orwell was the one coming out the most, it's bright cover placed between dark ones making it clear that this book was her favorite.

\- Is 1984 your favorite book, she therefore asked as Fang came inside the room with two glasses and a bottle.

\- Yes it is. Have ya read it?

\- When I was younger yes, but I don't quite remember it.

She sat down on the couch, receiving a half-full glass in the palm of her hand she quickly clicked with Fang's taking a seat right next to her, a hand landing on her thigh. The warmth from the palm gave her shivers down her spine, trying as hard as she could not to picture that hand on her bare and naked skin. Biting her lip, Lightning quickly swallowed a mouthful of the cold wine, keeping the glass in her hand as she looked at Fang.

\- I'm sorry your sister had to leave so soon.

\- It's okay. I'll probably visit her in the following weeks. She's not that far so it should be fine.

Of course, Lightning was lying. She had no idea when she would ever see Serah again, and even doubted the possibility to see her before a very long time. Shrugging, she gazed at Fang with a smile, letting her eyes run across her face only to realizing she did not possess a single flaw.

Her skin was perfectly tanned and smooth, her eyes were a dark-green making her knees weak, her nose had a perfect shape and her lips were yearning her to kiss them. Coming closer, she closed her eyes and did just that, letting Fang's hand cup her face to deepen the kiss even more before finding herself with her back on the sofa, lips traveling the long side of her neck.

She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling as soft hands slowly lifted her white t-shirt, a smirk reaching the corner of lips with delight. Feeling Fang's breath down her neck, Lightning shivered, clutching on her own neck. Bringing her lips back on hers, the pink-headed girl felt teeth planting in her lip, the brunette pulling-away with a predatory look on her face.

Grabbing Lightning's hand and pulling her off the sofa, the Mobster was dragged across the room, quickly pining Fang against a wall with brute force. Viciously smirking in her direction, she placed a deep kiss on her lips whilst unbuttoning her white shirt with her eyes closed and letting slide off Fang's shoulder as the final button final came loose. She gazed at her breast for a few moments, her eyes filled with a growing desire. Panting with lust, Lightning caressed Fang's face, pushing away a few of the brown hair that fallen before her eyes, letting her hand slide behind the nape of her neck to pull her closer once more.

Kissing her roughly, it was now Lightning's turn to be undressed, the white t-shirt falling on the ground to reveal a dark-red laced bra pushing her breast up. Fang touched the pinkie's stomach, her finger lingering on a small yet visible scar she quickly forgot about as her hand reached the material of the bra, her other hand already unhooking it from behind. She let it fall on the ground, letting go of Fang and sensing her fingertips touching the tip of her hardening nipples, the burning sensation of desire spreading across her entire body. She silently huffed as fingers pinched it, her eyes piercing through Fang's skull with an enormous amount of lust, slamming the brunette back against the wall to kiss her again, both of her hands playfully teasing with the button of Fang's jeans.

Snapping it open, she didn't hesitate to slide a hand under her underwear, but was surprisingly pulled back from a strong grip around her wrist. Gazing at Fang with a titled head, she was about to speak up, receiving a finger on her lips to shut her up in an instant. Slightly annoyed, she growled with disapproval and was led to another part of the apartment.

Being picked-up from the ground, Lightning's butt landed on a rough surface her eyes narrowing to gaze at Fang's hand already pulling her jeans away from her legs, giving sight to a matching thong, the delicate and thin fabric not causing Fang any trouble to toy with her button, her eyes sharply closing as her head jolted back.

She let out a quiet moan leave the back of her throat, feeling Fang's talented long fingers tease her entire body, warm kiss being placed on her stomach to her inner thighs, the thong being slowly retrieved. Looking down at Fang's burning desire, Lightning smirked. Carefully, she placed her palm on the top of her lover's head, her other hand too busy keeping her sat as a warm and moist tongue touched the tip of her clit, a louder huff escaping her mouth.

Feeling her hips being clutched on, Lightning felt Fang's tongue penetrating her gently, pulling and pushing her on the glass-desk, her chest heaving with her halting breath, her own fingers cringing in the brown and messy hair.

Standing back up from the ground, Fang gave Lightning a come-hitter look, a smirk drawn on her full and wet lips she quickly crashed on her own, two rough fingers already slamming between her legs. She moaned in her ear, her fingernails already traveling on her naked back. With her legs wrapped around her body, Lightning felt her body being lifted up over and over again with her head facing the ceiling.

\- Ya are so wet sunshine… All of that for me?

\- Shut—up.

Growling, the pink-headed girl huffed as the two fingers slide back from between herself, surprised as her entire body was lifted by Fang, her legs still tightly wrapped around her legs. Landing on her back on a comfortable mattress. They both gazed at each other, a drop of sweat rolling down Lightning's neck to her nape, her hands sliding across the topless tanned-body of her lover.

Slowly, she observed Fang crawling back between her legs, the tongue rapidly licking back her button with delight. Placing her hand between her teeth, Lightning bit hard, refusing to let her moans leave her mouth once again. Failing in her task, she pulled her hand away and let her fingers clutch onto the soft sheets, her fist clenching and unclenching in rhythm with Fang's tongue.

Gasping as two sudden fingers were shoved back between her legs, Lightning couldn't help but to loudly moan in a pleasure-pain combination, her back arching on the bed. Her legs widely spred, the pinkie let Fang slide a third and last finger in her warm and wet entrance, roughly penetrating her over and over again. _Oh my god, oh my god_. Covering her face with her palms, Lightning felt her entire body burn, a sensation of intense pleasure crawling on her spine.

She moaned loudly, both of her hands dropping on the dark-haired woman's head, squeezing her hair tighter than before. Tongue and fingers fighting in a dance between her legs, Lightning was unable to hold onto the spike of heat spreading across her brain, her eyes squeezed tight shut as her entire back arched, the three fingers severely clamped inside of her.

Letting the orgasm consume her, she moaned again, louder and longer, her fingers still clutched into Fang's hair until her back finally touched the mattress again, her chest rising-up at her every breath. Relaxing her fingers, she huffed, the penetration of the three fingers relentlessly continuing as kisses were placed on her inner thighs to her stomach, a warm and wet tongue licking the tip of her left nipple.

Smiling, Lightning softly opened her eyes, readjusting to the light hanging above their heads. She cupped Fang's face in her hands, bringing her lips closer to hers to deeply kiss her, the tips of their tongues touching between their lips.

\- Hmmm…

\- Hmmm…Indeed… I could do that to ya the entire night…

\- Oh really, the pink-haired woman teased with a wink, biting her lower lip.

\- Yep…

Fingers pulling out and tracing a line on her thigh, Lightning seized the opportunity to push Fang on her back, sitting on her stomach. She didn't care about how wet she was, all she wanted at this very instant was to devour Fang from the inside.

\- My turn now.

Snickering, she yanked Fang's pants away before kissing her neck. Smirking, she bit her lobe, her fingers already toying with the brunette's nipple. _Let's fuck all night_ , she thought as her lips landed on the second nipple _, let's devour each other._

* * *

Lightning woke up in the middle of night, a head placed on Fang's shoulder still soundly sleeping on the bed, eyes flickering and respiration going smoother than ever. She could feel that something was wrong, as if she had missed an important event without managing to pin-point what it could truly be. Call it an intuition, be something was wrong.

Quietly, the pink-headed girl lifted her head up from the naked shoulder, quickly standing up from the bed and tip-toeing towards the living-room where she had left her purse and phone. She glanced over her shoulder as Fang moved on the bed, the dark-headed woman only turning around under the sheets and bringing them up to her nose to protect herself from the cold temperature inside the flat.

Gingerly, she went towards the couch, observing the bottle of wine and glasses that hadn't moved and reached out her hand inside the purse, taking the phone out of it with a frown. For a few seconds, her heart stopped. _Twelve-missed calls?_ Quickly unlocking the phone, she pressed on Alaric's name and pressed it against her hear, pacing around behind the couch with a clenched fist.

\- Alaric, she whispered, what's going on?!

\- There was an attack on the docks, Bastet's guys found out where we stocked objects.

She pressed her fingers against her forehead, glaring at the wall.

\- I'll be at the office in twenty-minutes tops. Do you have someone?

\- A girl and a guy. Caius already started the interrogation.

\- Perfect.

Hanging-up, Lightning felt the urge to throw her phone against the wall, rapidly remembering that not only was she not alone, but not in her apartment. _Fuck, fuck…_ Sighing, Lightning bent-down, snatching her bra and t-shirt from the floor she quickly put back on before rolling her eyes in exasperation. _My fucking pants._ Growling to herself, the pink-headed mobster silently made her way back towards the bedroom, thanking the floor of this apartment for being completely sound-proofed.

Leaning down, she reached out her hand towards the pants and thong, barely breathing anymore in order to remain completely unnoticed. Her heart stopped as Fang growled, turning around on the bed once again only to spread her arms on the mattress. _Okay, let's bail_.

Stepping out of the bedroom, Lightning was already fully-dressed, only needing to grab her purse back from the living-room. Slowly, she snatched it once more, scanning the room to find her shoes. _Where the fuck are my shoes?_ She gritted her teeth together, walking everywhere as quietly as possible. _Think, think you idiot._

Slamming her forehead over and over again, she clicked her fingers togethers, sharply remembering where they were. Swiftly, Lightning walked down the hallway, the flash of her camera helping her to make sense of the darkness until her eyes finally landed on the pair off heels on the floor, snatching them and walking bare-foot towards the front-door.

She winced, giving a glance over her shoulder and feeling like a complete bitch for bailing on Fang that way, but she had no other choice. She needed to work.

Opening and closing the door, she quickly put her heels on and walked down the stairs, pushing the front-door with brute force. Glancing at the street, she began to walk left, her phone in the palm of her hands looking for a Uber in proximity she could order to bring her back at her apartment, so she could finally take her car and storm at her office.

As luck had decided to completely let go of her, Lightning muttered under her breath. No Uber, no cabs, she could only walk. With the phone back to her ear, she waited for Alaric to respond.

\- Alaric, meet me at my apartment in ten minutes. Run over people on your way, I don't care. Just be there.

\- Yes.

Sighing with disbelief and jogging down the street, Lightning found herself face-to-face with three men, bumping into them at an intersection. She glared at them all, quickly skirting around them and pursuing her race towards the north of the neighborhood. She heard a few insults coming from behind her back, followed by whistles she decided to ignore, too focused on the problem at hand. _Trying to steal from me? From ME? You're crossing a fucking line._

After six minutes, Lightning was finally at her apartment, tearing her clothes apart and getting into something just a little bit more comfortable, a black hoodie, black jeans and military boots. She dumped her bag on the ground, only taking her gun from it she placed in the front-pocket, her hands tightly clutching against it. With a deep sigh, she snatched her keys and walked out of the flat, waiting on the pavement with her hood on her head.

As a car finally stopped before her eyes, Lightning silently went inside, slamming the passenger door with force.

\- Tell me everything.

\- At 2AM, the alarms began to pound. A group went to the docks, and armed guards were waiting for them. Five are dead, two have escaped and two are at the office.

\- What were they stealing?

\- That's the thing, nothing. They didn't take anything at all. It was like they…

\- Lured you. But why?

Alaric shrugged, glancing at Lightning. Her teeth still gritting, the pink-headed woman took in deep yet sharp breaths, her fingernails drumming against the dashboard. Pulling out the gun from her pocket, she carefully looked at it with a frown, checking the number of bullets inside before smashing the clipper back inside the chamber.

 _Why would this son of a bitch decide to lure you there…_

Unable to get her head around this, Lightning closed her eyes, placing her head against the door. She breathed in and out extremely slowly, letting Alaric storm throughout the city. It took them less than ten minutes to arrive at the office, the streets being almost completely empty at this time of night.

Standing inside the underground parking, Lightning was out of the car and waiting in front of the elevator with Alaric in a moment's notice. Penetrating inside the lift and pressing on the last floor, the girl tapped her foot against the floor with the pistol still in her hand, looking up at the numbers changing every second. Impatient, she glanced at Alaric with a wicked smile, her eyes sparkling with rage.

As the doors opened, Lightning walked inside the room only to find the two individuals both strapped on chairs, only of them, the man, bleeding from the mouth and nose. She glanced at Caius and nodded before pointing her gun at the woman who's eyes suddenly snapped open, and began to fire a bullet in each knee.

\- Oops, my finger slipped.

\- You whore! You fucking whore!

\- Aw honey, you really shouldn't be coy when you're being tied up…

Smirking, Lightning turned around, snatching the chair near the wall to bring it in front of the woman, elegantly sitting down on it.

\- So darling… I hope that you know you're screwed, right?

\- Fuck you. I can't believe you're Seth, fucking princess bitch.

\- Looks can be deceiving, uh?

She winked and leaned forward, elbowing on her knees. With her left hand, Lightning slowly touched the woman's knee before plunging her finger inside the wound, listening to the screams of agony leaving her raucous throat.

\- Buckle up ray of light, this is going to be a very long day.

\- You will—never get Bastet. He will find you, torture you and dismember you to feed you to his dogs.

\- Who doesn't like a Game of Thrones style, Lightning cheerfully replied, turning her finger inside the wound.

Leaning back down in her chair, Lightning observed Caius still standing still in front of their second kidnapped-guard. She chuckled at his sight, bruised and swollen from the amount of fist he had received in his face. Then without caring, Lightning pointed the gun towards the man and pulled the trigger five times, hitting him in the stomach, legs and arms under a diabolical laughter.

\- Little guy's gonna bleed to death.

\- We all know it's how it ends, the woman yelled to Lightning's face.

\- That's true… Call the doctor, we're gonna need her tonight.

Standing up from the chair, the pink-headed girl headed back towards the table, grabbing the bottle of scotch Alaric had brought up from her office, pouring herself a drink with a smile. Then, suddenly, she remembered Fang alone in her apartment.

Taking her iPhone out of her pocket, she quickly texted Fang, excusing herself for leaving after a phone-call from her sister, meaning she would be out of the city for at least a day. She stopped the message, reading it once more before adding a casual _I had a great time with you. I'll see you soon_. She snickered to herself and nodded inwardly to herself. _Smooth._

Sighing, she swallowed the entire glass of scotch she had poured herself, wiping away the small drops of alcohol from her lips with her sleeve, darting back at the woman sitting on the chair. She had balls, that was for sure, and managed to keep a stern-face even with the amount of pain she was currently going through. Truth be told, Lightning was impressed.

\- So honey…let's start over.

\- Fuck. You.

\- How should I call you?

\- Fuck yourself.

\- Okay Fuck Yourself, Lightning said with a grin, I'm Lightning.

The girl batted her eyelashes, gazing away with a huff.

\- I'm willing to play nice darling, but you're going to have to do the same.

\- Right, Seth is known to play nice.

\- Oh, you shouldn't listen everything your boss is telling you! Don't you like to get an impression for yourself? Or are you like a sheep listening to everything and believing it's all true?

\- Go to hell.

Lightning sighed, going back to the chair with the bottle in her hand. She glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see Alaric already coming back with her personal doctor, a sixty-two-year-old woman that had been employed in her company for the last 3 years, ever since Lightning had begun her reign.

Placing the bottle on the chair, she bounced towards the doctor with a smile, shaking her hand with her bloodied own, smiling cheerfully in her direction.

\- Doc, I'm going to need you for the next twenty-four hours. This little girl refuses to talk and I need her sharp…

\- What would you want me to do?

\- Every time I make her bleed, you jump in and take care of it.

The doctor nodded, going to the other side of the room to dispatch her surgical material whilst Lightning was back in front of the woman, still giving her a stone-cold gaze. She sat down, the bottle of scotch back in her hand and already on her lips, taking in two mouthfuls before pouring a few drops on the two wounded knees, the blond-haired girl's face cringing with pain.

She kept her scream inside, only closing her eyes shut.

\- Hurts doesn't it?

\- You're a fucking psychopath.

\- Actually no I'm not. I'm just like you.

\- Right, no one in their right mind would enjoy torturing people!

\- Hm…

Stroking her chin, Lightning leaned forward with a devious smile. She kept a long, quiet stare, feeling all eyes on her and her new toy before listening to a growl, the man blubbering, trying to talk. Glancing at him, she caught his sad eyes, the doctor already taking care of the wounds without using any kind of anesthetic. She waited, arching a brow with a smile tugged at her lips.

After a few moments, Lightning gave up, already back up on her feet to retrieve a pair on surgical pliers from the pocket of her hoodie, tapping them in the palm of her hand. She sighed heavily, coming to the woman's side to grab a hold on her hand, blondie suddenly fidgeting on her chair.

\- What are you doing?!

\- I'm making you talk honey. It's a shame because you have nice nails.

\- Go ahead, have your fun! I won't tell you fucking anything.

Giggling, the pink-headed boss slowly placed the pliers under the nail of the woman's fore-finger, and gently pulled. She took exactly fifty-two seconds to tear out the first nail out of her hand, suffering through an amazing amount of pain. She managed to keep a cold face, her jaw only clenching and her eyes tightly shut, shaking her head from left to right every time Lightning would slowly start to pull again.

She kept on going with every nail, taking her no more than 10 minutes to finish her work with delight, the ten fingernails scattered on the ground in a puddle of blood.

\- Just—talk to her, Wendy.

\- Glancing at the man, Lightning slowly nodded.

\- Yes Wendy, just talk to me.

\- What do you even want to know?!

\- I want to know why you lured my people to the docs. I want to know what your original plan was.

Wendy chuckled. She chuckled louder, and louder, a sly grin twitching the corner of her lips to give into something cruel, something she found extremely amusing. Lightning on the other hand, did not laugh at all. With her arms crossed on her chest, the pliers still in her hand, she quickly unfolded them used her right hand to hold the head straight and plunged the pliers inside her left eye.

\- Bitch! I fucking hate you! I hope she's fucking dead!

She stopped breathing for a second. Pulling the pliers away and throwing them on the ground she took Wendy's face in both her hands forcing her to look inside her eyes with the only one she had left.

\- Who's fucking dead? She didn't reply, snickering once more, who's fucking dead?!

Letting go of the face, Lightning came closer to the second prisoner. She lifted his head up, forcing him to gaze inside her eyes filled with hatred.

\- Who. Is. Fucking. Dead?

\- … Your…

\- Shut your mouth.

Cracking her neck, Lightning punched the man across the face once, twice, three times. Relentlessly, she kept on punching, her hands now covered in blood. Quickly pulling away with her fist clenched in the air, she glared at Wendy, the woman dropping her smile to let her lips frown. _You're dead._

With rage, Lightning pulled out her gun again, pointing it directly at Wendy's chest. She twitched her lips, her brows heavily knitted before she aimed at the ground. And then, in an instant, she shot directly in _his_ head. The sound was loud, the heavy smock coming out of the barrel of the gun covering most of Lightning's face. She grinned at his sight, observing the puddle of blood getting more intense on the ground, her face quickly shifting to stare at Wendy.

She came closer to her, shoving the guns inside her mouth and sitting on her lap, glaring into her hazel eyes.

\- Who is dead?

\- Ire fkic…

\- I'm sorry, what?

She pushed the gun deeper inside the woman's throat, her eyes growing as she began to feel like chocking.

\- Who. Is. Dead?

The woman shook her head, eyes popping out of their globes. Deeply annoyed, Lightning sighed, slamming the magazine of the gun against her forehead, knocking her out cold.

She stood up from her lap, swiftly turning around and exiting the room without a single word or glance, taking the stairs to walk towards her office with her fists tightly clenched, her nails piercing through her skin. Unlocking the door and slamming it hard behind her back, Lightning stood completely still in the middle of the room, staring at the floor for a few moments before snatching the first thing she saw, throwing it against the wall. The crystal glass exploded at the impact, pieces of glass flying in every direction.

In a scream of rage, she grabbed another glass, giving it the same treatment. She pushed objects, throwing everything on her desk on the floor, before slamming her bare fist against the wood over and over again, her knuckles cracking and bleeding after a whole finally appeared.

Ducking her head with her eyes closed, Lightning began to slowly calm down. She could still feel the rage throbbing against the back of her brain, but the need to kill everyone on Earth had disappeared from her mind.

Standing back straight, she glanced at the room, sitting down on her desk as she crossed her arms. Darting at her hand and slowly moving her fingers, Lightning sighed, noticing that the sun had finally appeared. _What time is it?_ Frowning, she snatched her phone from her pocket, checking at the digital clock. _8:52. Already?_ She had also received a message form Fang at 6:30 AM she decided to leave unopen for the following hours, now pacing around the room with the phone in her palm. _Who did they take? Emily? They couldn't have found her, she's in a cell outside of Boston. I don't have any other…_

It stroke her hard, the air suddenly leaving her lungs. It felt like a heart-attack, her entire world disappearing before her eyes. Quickly, she unlocked her phone with her thumb and placed it to her ear after ten seconds, immediately listening to the voice-mail. _Hi this is Skylar, please call me later!_

A striking fear overwhelmed her, and in a minutes notice, Lightning was out of her office and already on the road, storming through the city of Boston with her gun on her lap. _Please Skylar…please be there._

The road to Skylar's house had been the longest one of her life. It only took her ten minutes in reality, but her thoughts had made everything much, much worse. She had pictured every possible scenario in her mind, going from penetrating inside the apartment finding Skylar dead on the ground to finding Skylar sound asleep in her bed, painfully waking up from a night out.

But she knew Skylar wouldn't be in her house. She simply knew it. But somehow, she believed that her best-friend was still alive, somewhere. _Held by Bastet._

She could see the house from afar, waiting at the red light with her fingernails tapping against the wheel. Grunting, she turned the wheel and pressed on the pedal hard, passing next to the cards blocking her view and speeding at the intersection. It was careless, but she didn't care at all. Right now, the only thing mattering to her was Skylar and nothing else.

She parked in front of the building like a madman, exiting the car with the gun back in her hoodie, running towards the front door she kicked down with strength, pushing the people standing in her way. Walking up the stairs two-by-two, she reached the third floor in an instant, her brain not even controlling any of her movements, so as she finally stood before the door, Lightning kicked out open again, the door yanking on the wall.

\- Skylar?! Skylar!

She rammed through the kitchen, the living-room, the toilets, the bathroom before finally arriving in front of the bedroom, her heart sinking hard in her shoes. With a sigh, she pushed it open, the gun pointing at the inside of the room.

It was a scene she couldn't bare to understand. On the floor where clothes, broken objects, a torn-up bed, the mattress tore open, the windows were broken. And the only thing she didn't want to see, she saw. It was small, but she immediately saw it. Coming closer to the stain on the ground, Lightning kneeled on the floor, touching the red spots with the tip of her fingers before rubbing them together. _It's fresh blood._

Standing up, she began too search through the things that had been destroyed, wondering what on Earth they could've try and find here. _Taking Skylar to make her talk… If she's dead…_ She closed her eyes at the thought and shook her head. _No she's not dead. She's always been strong._

Clenching her fist, Lightning put the gun back inside her pocket, and left the building without being seen. She hoped behind the wheel of her car, nibbling on her lip and squeezing it tightly. At this very moment, Lightning thought about what Serah had told her, before leaving. _'What would make you stop?'_ Sighing, she pushed the thought away, but no matter what she tried to think about, it all came back to this. _What would make you stop?_ _What would make you stop?_

Gritting her teeth, Lightning continued driving back to the office, entering the parking-lot with an emotionless face, and an emotionless heart. Every shred of feelings she once had had completely disappeared. She felt robotic, ruthless. It felt good, somehow, not to feel anything at all, and it would help her tremendously with _Wendy_.

Parking her car in front of the elevator, Lightning quickly got out of it and inside the lift, waiting to be brought to the last floor. Calm and focused, and walked out of it, noticing that Caius and the dead man had disappeared, only leaving the doctor, Alaric and Wendy inside the room.

\- What happened?

\- They took Skylar.

Her answer was sharp. Alaric only opened wide eyes, understanding the subject did not need to be further discussed. She walked slowly towards Wendy perfectly patched up, an eye-patch covering the one missing on her face.

She slapped her hard across the face, the Doctor standing next to the both of them flinching at the sound, waking up Wendy in an instant.

\- Where's Skylar, Lightning calmly asked with a smile, already sat down before her.

\- So you figured it out… Not as stupid as I thought you'd be.

Lightning sighed to herself, clicking her fingers to together. She listened to Alaric leave the room like a feather, appreciating how the man could understand everything she needed without even having to speak. He was a good guard. _It's a shame he's going to die_. Sighingonce more, she gazed at Wendy with a smile, her eyes traveling on her entire face.

\- Her name was Skylar?

\- Yes.

\- I only knew her as _Hustler bitch from Cocoon._ Suited her better.

\- Hm.

She could tell Wendy was trying to push her buttons, probably trying to make this quicker than originally planned. But not matter what she could say, Lightning wouldn't blow up. She was going to take her time, and make this last as long as absolutely possible.

\- So… Lightning. What's your angle?

\- My angle?

\- Yeah, like why'd you do that video thing? You knew it would only make Bastet angry. He retaliated by talking your precious Hustler.

\- Honestly? I was getting bored.

\- You were _bored?_

Lightning nodded, looking at her fingernails. She did not lift her head up as Alaric stepped back inside the room, placing a box next to her chair without a single word. She looked inside of it, pushing a few of the objects away only to retrieve a knife. A simple sharp knife she tried out on her own finger, looking at the only drop of blood rolling down her long finger.

She glanced at Wendy with a soft smile, placing her finger between her lips and sucking on her own blood before standing up from the chair.

\- Have you ever seen the movie Batman, Wendy?

\- Uh…

\- DO you know the Joker? He has beautiful scars… And I think that you could use that same smile.

She giggled manically, already shoving the knife inside the woman mouth gasping for air and simply pulled to the side. Wendy screamed, high-pitched sound leaving her throat, waving her hands still neatly attached to the chair, her entire body trembling.

Lightning chuckled, getting on the second cheek without blinking, or even looking. She just slit, looking straight ahead of her.

\- I know it hurts, honey. It will hurt for a long time. Actually, I think I'm going to keep you here until I find Skylar again, even if it takes me weeks.

She came closer to her ear, breathing down her neck covered with blood.

\- You are going to be my special guest…


	7. The Joker and the Thief

Lightning was back at her apartment, Wendy tightly kept in her mansion in the underground for her special fun. Being fed through a tube and given water every seven hours, she would survive for days. No matter how hard she would suffer, the pink-headed girl made sure she would make it until the end. Dying from pain was a misconception, something impossible to achieve, and with the help of her Doctor, she knew she could do everything she wanted.

It had been two days now, since Skylar had disappeared, and two days that the half of the gang had been on the streets of Boston, desperately trying to look out for her. Lightning had been doing the same thing, but from afar, not wanting to blow up her cover only because her best-friend had disappeared, which she knew was Bastet's plan. He had wanted to unsettle her, and had almost managed to crack her walls. Sadly for him, it only had the opposite effect.

She was sitting on her couch, waiting for Fang to come for a drink. She hadn't seen her _girlfriend_ for the past three days, ever since she had bolted on her in the middle of the night. She was glad to see her, thinking that a distraction was always welcome in those kinds of situations. She wouldn't have to think about her missing best-friend, or less, at least.

Hearing Fang's usual knocks, the pink-headed girl stood up from the couch, sluggishly walking towards the door. She opened it after a big deep breath, putting the biggest smile she could on her lips.

'Hey there Sunshine, Fang said with a smile, her lips already invading her own. How are ya?'

'I'm good! What about you, Fang?'

'Pretty decent.'

She let the woman in, glancing at the few papers spread on her table. These were papers she needed to sort out for the high-school, documents on some of the students causing ruckus. Stepping back inside her living-room, she took the papers away and placed them back inside her bag, pushing it further away with a bare foot. _No need to care about that right now._

Silently, she made her way towards the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of wine she had left open for them to enjoy, already pouring two glasses of the red alcohol before coming back towards Fang, a glass in each hand.

'Ya sure ya are okay? Ya seem distracted…'

'Yeah I'm good… It's just… I haven't heard from Skylar. I stopped by her place and she didn't answer. I'm starting to be worried.'

'How long has it been,' Fang asked concerned.

'A couple of days… I saw her right before I saw you last time.'

'Hmm…'

Lightning shrugged, clearly concerned. She felt a hand lifting her head up, gazing into Fang's beautiful eyes.

'She can't be that far. Maybe visiting her family?'

'Yeah, maybe… I'll wait until tomorrow and then I'll call the cops.'

'I understand.'

Smiling, she pressed her lips against Fang's, sidling in her arms for a tight hug. She brushed her back with her only free hand, clearing her throat as she retreated, a few moments later.

'How's your sister doin'?'

'Good. She had an argument with Snow. But it's better now.'

'I thought they never fought?'

'I know, right? Surprised me as well,' Lightning said, not even able to believe the blantant lie.

Sitting down on the couch, she glanced at Fang, the woman already coming next to her. She placed a hand on her thigh, slowly brushing the fabric on her jeans with an honest smile tugged on her lips. Smiling back, Lightning leaned in again for a kiss, lasting longer than the previous one. Kissing Fang was truly a pleasure, her lips soft as cotton, her skin smooth as caramel.

It had occurred to her, during the previous days, how much she actually cared about Fang. She didn't know her that well, but there was something different about her, something she couldn't quite explain. It wasn't love, but Lightning had grown attached to her quickly and without any warning, and what puzzled her was that she did not mind at all.

It was pleasant to spend time with someone actually carrying; someone gentle and loving. And Fang was all these words.

'How was work today?'

'Hm,' Lightning replied after a sip, 'not as painful as the other days. The students are…Calm, for some reason. What about you?'

'Same. Kind of loud, people complainin', but well, that's life in an office, eh?'

'Eh?'

Lightning chuckled, feeling a small pinch on her thigh, replying by bumping her in the shoulder.

'I can't stay long tonight, I have a few things to do before goin' back to work tomorrow.'

'Same…'

'Yeah, saw the papers! Seems…

'Boring? It is.'

They both cackled, taking sips from both of their drinks before placing them down on the table. With music in the background, Lightning felt at ease. Fang only stayed for an hour at most, but it was an hour she had cherished. They hadn't talked about annoying things, only focusing on important subjects they both wanted to talk about. Maybe was it one of the other reasons she cared so much about Fang, feeling as if she could tell her anything without ever boring her, and the same went for her.

She had noticed that the first time they had met, the accent making her every word even more interesting and had noticed how true this still was.

'Okay, it's 11, I'm gonna head back home.'

'Alright! Be careful you drank a bit.'

'No worries, I'm Australian, not French.'

Heartily laughing as she stood up, the pink-headed girl shook her head from left to right, biting her lower lip while gazing at Fang. Bringing her back to the door and kissing each other goodbye, Lightning couldn't help but to make it last longer, not wanting her to leave just yet.

Then, pulling back, she watched her leave, closing the door back behind her and leaning against the door, her hand under her butt. She stood still in this position for a few seconds, smiling and gazing at her ceiling like an idiot, quickly being brought back to reality when her phone buzzed inside her pocket. She read the text-message quickly, her brows knitted and a twitch forming on her lip.

Quickly stepping inside her bedroom, she put on her black hoodie and placed her gun inside the pocket, quietly looking at her reflection in the mirror. Hood on her head, she glared at her own reflection with a grin, ready to follow a trail. It was dangerous for sure, but no one would ever suspect her from being Seth dressed in this attire.

Readjusting it, Lightning placed her cell-phone in her pocket and made her way out of the apartment. She was walking with her hand sin her pocket, her eyes staring at the ground as she was headed towards a strip-club not far from her location, a cigarette dangling between her lips. It was cold, but the cold had never really bothered her. Determined, she turned on the left, observing the shining light from the club from across the street, a small smile reaching her lips.

She stood still in front of it, observing a black-car parked a little further away, quickly recognizing Alaric's standing guard in case something wrong would happen. Throwing her cigarette further away on the ground the pink-headed girl slowly made her way inside of the club, the smell and music already giving her a massive headache. She liked a good show, but disliked the atmosphere of a club, sticky, gross and repulsive, men lined up to gaze at some naked woman selling her body on erections. It was sad, really.

She sat down on a chair away from the entertainment, glancing at the few people cheering at the name of some well-known stripper entering the ring, her breast already rubbing against the cold metal of the pole. It was only then that she managed to see who she wanted. Snickering, Lightning raised her hand in the air, clicking her fingers in her direction to call for her name. _Hm, you're pretty._

Looking at the waitress cheerfully approaching, Lightning leaned forward her eyes piercing through her own.

'How much is it for a private session with you? Extremely private.'

'It's 150 dollars beautiful…'

Lightning nodded, pulling the cash out of her pocket and touching the grip of her gun, placing the money in the woman's bra with a smirk. She let her take her hand, following the brunette inside a long hallway before stepping inside a closed room, the door closing back behind them both. Turning around to look at the door, the pink-headed girl carefully locked it, already aware that the camera's had been taken down only for a couple of minutes.

She widely grinned, turning around with the gun pointing at the stripper's chest, the discreet silencer neatly placed at the end of the muzzle.

'Where's Skylar?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Oh honey,' Lightning dryly said with a smirk crinkling the corner of her lips.

Coming closer, Lightning grabbed the girl by the throat, shoving her against the wall.

'Where. Is. Skylar?'

'I—swear I don't—know! We don't know where Bastet—lives.'

'Lies. Silly lies.'

Putting the gun under her chin, she noticed the stripper's shoulder suddenly tensing. She was afraid, and Lightning knew it. Letting go of her throat, she aimed the gun at her temple, patiently waiting for her to finally remember.

'I don't even know what he looks like…'

Do you think I'm an idiot? You're his _stripper_ , I would be surprised if you didn't know his face.'

'I don't…He wears a mask… All I can tell you is that it's a she.'

'I'm sorry?'

'Bastet. It's a woman. But I never saw her face or heard her talk.'

Lightning froze, her fingers still tightly gripping the pistol. She took a small step back, looking at the stripper painfully getting back on her feet. _Such a shame_. She shot three times at her, two times in the heart and one in the head, the woman falling back on the ground without a single sound. Sighing, the pink-headed girl made her way back out of the room, the gun back in her pocket. She slowly walked towards the emergency exit from the back of the club, pushing the door with a firm hand, her hood still on top of her head.

She slowly began to walk in an alley at a slow paste, hands in her pocket and face aiming at the sky, the cloudless night giving an even colder impression on the tip of her nose. She smiled to herself, looking straight ahead of her once more before hearing the sound of footsteps coming from her behind back. Deciding not to care, she continued her way, her hands tightly holding her pistol.

Then, after ten seconds, she heard a name. She heard her name.

'Seth.'

Well-decided to ignore it, the pink-headed woman continued to walk, her tongue licking her chapped lips with delight.

'Stop. I will shoot.'

'Oh, scary.'

'Stop screwing around. You're done.'

Finally stopping, Lightning gazed at the moon. Bastet had finally shown up. And she was finally going to see her.


End file.
